Sorry this has taken me so long to update you on. I've actually finished this (finally) and I started a new fic so it took my attention away for a while. Then there was all that mess with the holidays so I'm glad that's over, just so I can get things back to normal. But anyway, sorry for the super long wait. It shouldn't be too long until I update next (most likely next week) but I'm going out of town this weekend for a wedding that I'm singing at so I'll be far away from home…no computer. Sorry guys! But thanks for your patience and your reviews. They're greatly appreciated. You guys are awesome! Happy reading!
Harry and Hermione sat under the sun for another half hour in silence, both enjoying the peacefulness the outdoors could bring. The sun glimmered brightly above them and the sky was so clear and blue it looked as if it were in a painting; so perfect and flawless. Hermione tapped her toes on the cement as she came to realize her skin was starting to get all blotchy. She looked down at her legs and made a face of pure disgust.
"That's what I get for having fair skin." She muttered to herself. Harry turned his head to stare at her as if she were a silly little school girl.
"What was that?" He asked. Hermione raised her eyebrows and stared at him. "You were mumbling." Harry finished. Hermione smiled.
"Oh I was just complaining about getting all blotchy. My skin can't handle this much exposure to the sun, even though I tried to scrounge up a charm to fix that." She started as she stood up from her chair and headed to the door. She put her hand on the door frame and turned around. "Hey, I was going to take a shower, but if you needed to do that, everything you need is in the bathroom next to your room." She said with a smile.
Harry sat up from the bench and brushed his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more. "Oh, thanks." He said with a smile on his face. Hermione nodded happily and went back into the house and out of sight.
Harry got up from the bench and went inside, shutting the door gently and quietly to be sure it wouldn't be glued shut with the jaws of life the next time someone attempted to open it. There he stood in Hermione's kitchen, gazing at everything in his path as she took her shower. It was so peaceful. All he could hear was the distant sound of the shower down the hall off the living room. Harry picked his wand up from the table and headed off upstairs to get his shower in before Hermione had finished hers.
"What, are you crazy! There's no way we're going to be able to pull this off." Ron interrupted as Fayina was about to step into the fireplace. She stepped away and stood next to Ron in the living room, putting her handful of floo powder back into the small bowl and giving Ron a piercing yet sarcastic look as she dusted off her hands.
"Oh, come on. Sure we can do this. It's not like we haven't been able to pull this sort of thing off before!" Fayina said convincingly.
Ron rolled his eyes but gave into her plot. She grabbed a fresh handful of floo powder as she grabbed Ron firmly by the arm and pulled him in with her. Ron shut his eyes tight in anticipation. "I can't believe you've been back only a week and you're already stirring up trouble." Ron muttered with his eyes closed. Fayina tightened her fist, keeping the floo powder safely in her grip.
"Oh, Ron Ron Ron. You're right." She said seriously, putting an arm around his shoulders and shaking her head. "But at least I have you to help me!" She said teasingly.
Ron peeked out the corner of his eye at her as she threw the powder down at their feet. In a bright flash of green, they were gone.
Somehow, this day would prove to be filled with mischievous happenings and confusion. Still, everything played over perfectly in Fayina's intelligent head. Her prodding personality didn't help a bit as far as Ron was concerned. No one could really know the reasons behind Ron's passiveness and why he always agreed to helping out his friend. No matter how hard he struggled, Fayina always managed to rope him into something. That's just how life was; ever since she transferred from Russia to Hogwarts during their sixth year. She was always trying to worm her way into someone's business and get to the bottom of mysteries. But this time, they were up against the near-impossible.
Harry and Hermione gathered up their robes and wands and walked down the cobblestone path that led to the busiest part of Hogsmeade, heading for their favorite shop for some drinks: The Three Broomsticks. Hermione was looking quite happy, but also surprised no one had noticed who was with her. She looked at Harry and rolled her eyes as she pulled the hood off his head.
"Hey!" He complained, immediately putting the hood back on in an attempt to hide himself.
Hermione seemed startled and it showed by the expression on her face.
"Why are you hiding?" She asked impatiently.
Harry glanced at her and grinned a bit. "Don't want anyone else to see me yet. What if we run into Ron?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and stopped to look at him. "I get it. Honestly, you're just paranoid. Besides, Ron's at work right now working hard to earn some vacation time. Trust me, you're not going to see him." She added matter-of-factly.
"Is Ron still working at the Ministry?" Harry asked suddenly, as if the thought were a disgusting one.
Hermione nodded to confirm. "But not to worry, he got over his minor breakdown ages ago when he got moved up to the Quidditch department. He's the head of that now, did you know?" She continued on as they slowly moved down the path.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Impressive." Harry said in an approving way.
Hermione grinned at him and opened the door to the shop. They anxiously walked in and had a look around.
Hermione's eyes went huge and she pulled Harry into a corner to hide him.
"Hermione, what are you doing?!" Harry asked.
Hermione looked at him in such a way it shut him up completely. She barely poked her head around the corner and pulled back almost instantly. She rushed Harry to a nearby table and sat down, handing Harry a menu and gesturing to him what to do with it. They both put up a make-shift shield as Fred and George Weasley walked by. Hermione looked at Harry from behind their menus and bit her lip.
Harry got a grin on his face and slammed the menu down on the table, causing the twins to look back in the direction of the sound. They looked at the two of them and went back to their conversation. But Fred did a double-take and his eyes nearly fell out of his head and onto the floor. He slapped George on the shoulder making him look up. Their expression was the same. Hermione looked at Harry, appalled.
"Harry! Do you want your secret out?" She gasped.
Harry pulled her menu down to the table. She gripped onto it as if she were so attached to it she couldn't bear to let it go. She finally did let go and sat looking at Harry.
"It's alright." He said, watching Fred and George come to have a seat at their booth.
"You're back! Amazing! When did you get here?" Fred asked eagerly. Hermione continued to stare at Harry as he conversed wildly with the Weasley twins.
"...and yes I suppose it HAS been a long time." Harry continued. Hermione clued back into the conversation just as it glided her direction.
"And Hermione! When did you bump into Harry?!" George asked. Hermione looked at Harry, locking eyes with him intensely.
"Well he didn't really bump into me, but he frightened me for sure!" She said with a grin on her face.
Fred and George looked at him scoldingly. He explained what had happened and they roared with laughter. The noise stirred a lot of customers and Madame Rosmerta strolled over. Harry made sure his hood was still on as he put a finger to his lips to quiet the twins. They clued into his secrecy and silently agreed not to say anything. Rosmerta would surely make a fuss if she saw Harry again.
"What will it be, dears? Butterbeers?" She asked. The four of them glanced at each other.
"Four please." Hermione answered. Madame Rosmerta smiled, took the menus and turned away without a glance at Harry. Fred and George wanted answers right away, but Harry reminded them of one thing.
"Look, could you two keep this a secret for a couple days? I mean until I decide when to break it to Ron? Then you can tell anyone you want." Harry said plainly, but in a tone that said so much. Everyone clued in that it was very important that no one knew.