Chapter 12: The Return of the Twins (And Lee Jordan Too)
<Earlier (Just after Harry and Hermione kiss)>
It was with an air of experience that the eyes of George, one half of the red-headed duo, opened in the morning light. Then there was a cringe similar to that which Ron would experience later that same morning. Despite the obvious hangover, he scrambled out of bed and disturbed his twin and their friend Lee from the world of dreams.
"Oy, you guys," George questioned urgently, "Where did you leave that hangover potion?"
Even though they had been made to leave their wands behind at the Burrow by their mother, regardless of the fact they were of age, the twins had managed to bring several vials of the lifesaver to Hogwarts with them. In their opinion, it was always better to be prepared, especially when there were parties to organise. It was lucky that Lee had brought his wand with him and it had been invaluable in gaining access to the secret passage and in providing a much needed light source, whence in.
Fred reached into a battered rucksack and pulled out three vials of the transparent pale blue liquid. He tossed one each to George and Lee, who both accepted their gift gratefully. Together they raised the small glass containers to their lips and swallowed the cool potion.
Soothing sensations flowed through their limbs and throbbing skulls. A pleasant calm descended upon them and each felt relief as the hangover lifted.
"That is so much better," Lee voiced.
"Oh yeah," Fred agreed totally. Then he began to chuckle.
"Fred, did you put something illicit in that potion?" George asked, wondering why his twin was behaving strangely and chuckling for no apparent reason.
"Can you imagine what Ron will be like when he gets up?" Fred clarified. "Unfortunately, he won't have a hangover cure like us, so he's going to be incredibly grumpy all day."
"Do you think we should leave one out for him?" Lee suggested, playing the moral conscience for the group of three.
"Nah, they were the only vials that we've got with us," Fred dismissed the idea idly. The thought of a thoroughly hung over Ron was an interesting and potentially amusing one.
"What time is it, anyway?" George asked, wondering how long it was until breakfast.
"I don't know," Lee said and Fred shook his head, not knowing the answer either. "There's a clock down in the common room, though, if you want to find out," Lee suggested as an afterthought.
"Alright, then, I'll see you guys in a little while," George said and prepared to go down the stairs to the communal area below.
"Wait a sec," Fred called after him and George looked back at the other two, "I'll tell you what; why don't we all get dressed and then go down together? It's probably nearly breakfast time, anyway, but if it isn't we can just hang around down there."
"Ok," George shrugged and began rummaging in his bag for clothes to put on.
Harry sat there on the soft crimson sofa with Hermione's arms still wrapped around him, eyes still staring into his. Moments earlier, he had turned and placed a feathery kiss upon her moist pink lips, albeit after an accidental knocking of noses.
"I've just kissed Hermione," was the predominant thought that ran through his mind at that precise point in time. Never had he imagined that he would have had enough courage to do what he had just done. With any luck, they would be able to confess their mutual affection and follow it up with an enjoyable session of snogging. No histrionics, no nonsense, just realisation.
Unfortunately for Harry and his dreams of snogging her senseless, Hermione broke his gaze and turned away. The arm which had previously been encircling Harry's waist was retracted and she shifted herself a little way down the sofa. There, she looked at her knees and twiddled her thumbs uncomfortably. The atmosphere changed from having been warm, cosy and affectionate to awkward and strained in a matter of moments. The body language became decidedly more defensive along with the shift in atmosphere and a lengthy pause followed.
The insecurities Harry had felt previously flooded back into his mind and he swallowed nervously. What if she didn't feel the same way as he did? She had moved away from him and now wasn't meeting his eyes. Did she want to kiss him, or had it just been an accident? In the past, he'd managed to defeat Trolls and a dragon, so how difficult would it be to tell someone how you feel? After all, it was only laying your soul bare for someone to stamp all over, wasn't it? Oh God!
"Well, there was only one way to find out wasn't there. He was a Gryffindor and he was damn well going to act like one," he resolved within himself.
"Hermione, I don't know quite how to say this," Harry started, unsure of how to begin. "About what just happened, I…………………"
"Hey, Harry; Hermione," Fred called from the bottom of the stairs, "You guys are up already." Startled at first, Harry they turned to see the three pranksters making their way to the common room. Hermione did likewise, feeling both exasperated and glad about the interruption. On the one hand, she wanted to know how he felt, but also she wanted to put off the time at which she might be rejected and thus experience the heartbreak of love unreturned.
"Yeah, we've been up for quite a while," Harry responded to the morning greeting, "I've even finished the hat which I was knitting."
"You knit?" George questioned, as if the concept was entirely alien to him, and joined Fred at the bottom of the staircase.
"Of course," Hermione replied from her position on the couch, "I've been teaching him how."
"This isn't another one of those S.P.E.W initiatives, is it?" Lee asked suspiciously, well aware of Hermione's previous cajoling and campaigning.
"Well, as a matter of fact it is," Hermione said indignantly, "Just because you choose to ignore the suppression of house elves and their rights, doesn't mean that everybody else should." She was now growing a pink tinge on her cheeks and it seemed that a "lively discussion" was imminent.
"That's right, but likewise, not everyone should have the same views. Otherwise the world would be a pretty boring place to live in," Harry interjected in an attempt to pacify Hermione and stop her ranting on about the injustices and brainwashing of fellow conscious creatures.
"Fine!" Hermione huffed, not really agreeing, but rather seeing that further arguing was futile and wouldn't make the three alter their views on the subject.
"What time is it anyway you guys?" George asked, "Is it nearly time for breakfast yet?"
"It's about a quarter to ten and breakfast isn't until ten thirty, so we've a while to wait," Harry responded, "Anyway, how come you guys seem to be feeling ok, when I saw you drinking like there was no tomorrow last night? Haven't you got a hangover at all?"
"My friend, I'll let you into a little secret of ours," Fred said, leaning over and making a theatrical gesture of cupping his hand to Harry's ear and whispering loudly enough for everybody to hear, "This isn't the first time that we've indulged in too much alcohol. We make a habit of taking a hangover cure with us wherever there might be a party."
"See, these are the useful sort of potions that Snape should be teaching us, rather than those obscure shrinking potions, that he seems to like," Lee expressed
"Those and poisons," Harry pointed out quietly.
"Quite right Harry," Fred agreed, "Well, to cut a not so long story short, we woke up this morning and took said potion and that's how we feel ok."
"Have you got any spare?" Harry asked, thinking about the vigour with which Ron had been downing the ale the previous evening.
"Why? You're not suffering from a hangover are you Harry?" Lee teased.
"I don't think so. I didn't drink very much last night, but I do keep on getting these twinges in my head every now and then. I was actually asking because I thought that Ron might require one when he gets up," Harry replied truthfully.
At the revelation about the twinges, Hermione began to worry. Could it be something to do with Voldemort, or was it just due to the ale?
"Shouldn't you tell Dumbledore that your scar's hurting again," Hermione asked, troubled that Harry might once more have to deal with more terrifying experiences in his dreams.
"He said that he had twinges in his head, not his scar," Fred said flippantly, "It's probably because he's not used to drinking alcohol." This didn't seem to convince Hermione and she was about to say something when Harry spoke again.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Harry said, "Does anybody want a game of exploding snap?"
Hermione noticed the obvious way in which Harry changed the subject, but decided not to comment on it. Why didn't he want to talk about his head hurting and was it anything to do with his scar? Sighing, Hermione joined in the rather more exhilarating version of muggle snap with the four boys.
Ten thirty arrived and true to Dumbledore's word, platters of food arrived on a table in the common room. There were the components of a full English breakfast and there was also a very large jug, which was giving off the characteristic aroma of freshly ground coffee. It seemed Dumbledore's powers of prediction were working correctly. That and he had a pretty shrewd idea of what teenagers had a tendency to get up to.
It was George who spotted the spread first and almost straight away, he was next to it, filling a plate with all the tasty items on offer. Fred and Lee followed his lead and soon, the piles of food were considerably diminished.
"Save some for the rest of us," Harry admonished as he envisaged there soon being nothing left to eat.
Looking a little affronted, the twins and Lee sat down and began to tuck into their breakfast with considerable enthusiasm. Harry and Hermione then proceeded to help themselves to some sustenance as well, being careful to leave enough for the others when they came down.
Neither spoke to the other whilst they transferred food to their plates, but Harry kept shooting Hermione intense questioning looks, which threatened to make her go weak at the knees. It was as they both reached for a serving spoon at the same time and their hands touched, that an awkward hesitation resulted.
They had been interrupted earlier that morning, moments after their first kiss had occurred. Harry had gone to say something, but had been cut off in mid speech, by one of the twins calling a morning's greeting from the stairs.
Hermione had reacted strangely to the kiss though and this left Harry unsure of how to proceed. He was going to confess his feelings, but now the moment had passed, he would have to find the right opportunity to express himself.
Hermione, on the other hand, was hoping desperately that Harry wasn't going to apologise for the kiss and that he would return her feelings. She had shied away from him earlier that morning because she hadn't wanted to hear the words, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. We're friends and could never be more." Putting off the time of the conversation was perhaps down to insecurities about herself and her appearance, but whatever the reasoning, Hermione was planning on avoiding speaking about the events of the morning with Harry for the time being.
When the two joined the twins and Lee, where they were eating, they both looked distant and even the twins noticed that something wasn't quite right.
"You guys ok?" Lee asked, concerned about the two best friends.
"Yes; never better," Hermione responded quickly and sounded overly happy. It sounded forced, but maybe it was just her reaction to snapping back to reality from her thoughts.
The five ate their breakfast, with the twins laughing and joking in between mouthfuls. It was at ten forty, when they had all finished, that they decided that it was time to get the others out of bed.
Hermione said that she would get the girls up and Harry was volunteered to raise the remaining boys from their sleep. Fred, George and Lee, it seemed, had decided that it might be a good idea to dispose of the evidence that alluded to the happenings of the night before. They were going back to Hogsmeade with the rubbish and would no doubt frequent the various shops there at the same time.
They left through the portrait hole, leaving Harry and Hermione alone together in the Gryffindor common room. The awkward silence descended again between them. In the end it was Hermione who broke it.
"I'm going to get those lazy girls out of bed. I'll meet you back down here at five to eleven, ok?"
"Alright," Harry responded and he watched Hermione's slender form making its way up towards the girl's dormitory and out of sight. He turned on his heel and trudged up the stairs to wake Ron and Neville.
Harry pushed open the door of the dormitory and greeted his other best friend, "Good morning Ron. I see that you're up now."
Hermione was having a lot of trouble getting the girls up and about. They were extremely stubborn when it came to certain things. Especially Ginny, who appeared to have a will of steel when it came to not exiting the comfort of her bed.
It was ten fifty five and she was meant to have met Harry back in the common room by now. She hoped that he was having more luck than she, but considering that he had to rouse Ron, she sincerely doubted the likelihood of that.
"Drastic measures will have to be taken," Hermione thought and picked up her wand her bedside table went and sat down on the edge of Ginny's bed. Twiddling her wand casually between her fingers she gave Ginny an ultimatum.
"Ginny; I know that you don't want to get up, but if you don't, I'll just levitate you down to the common room like that," Hermione threatened, amused at the huffing sound that her words produced from underneath the mass of blankets.
"Five seconds, Ginny. Then you're going downstairs whether you like it or not. By the way, I know for a fact that at least one of the boys is down there already," she said, knowing that Harry should be waiting for her down in the common room.
Ginny, it appeared, was having none of it and remained steadfastly covered in her foetal position on the bed. Perhaps she thought that Hermione was calling her bluff, but what happened next she wasn't prepared for.
"Fair enough," Hermione said, "Have it your way." With that, Hermione magically lifted the youngest Weasley from her comfortable mattress and levitated her through the door and down the stairs, being careful not to knock the younger girl into the wall or the banisters.
All the while, Ginny struggled, but she couldn't get away because she was suspended in mid air. The only thing she could do was to wrap herself tighter in her covers and hope that Hermione was joking about there being someone in the common room. She wondered who it might be. She supposed that if it were the twins, Ron or Harry, then it wouldn't be too bad. After all, they'd seen her in her pyjamas before and they'd probably only tease her a bit.
Unfortunately, when she reached the common room and was levitated onto a waiting sofa, she immediately noticed that there was indeed someone occupying the room. It wasn't Harry, as Hermione had predicted, but rather a newly showered Neville who was currently engaged in softly sipping a mug of hot coffee.
Ginny panicked and quickly disentangled herself from her bedding. Picking it up and wrapping it around herself, she rushed back up the stairs to her dormitory as fast as her legs would carry her. She was furious and acutely embarrassed at the same time, which meant that she was bright red and fuming as she re-entered the bedroom. In her hurry and temper, she nearly knocked Luna flying.
Neville was sedately drinking his coffee, when he saw an utterly unexpected sight; Ginny floating into the common room. A mystified and slightly confused expression was on his face, until Hermione emerged from the stairs. It then became apparent that Hermione was levitating Ginny; though why, he had no idea. Just as quickly as they had appeared, Ginny and Hermione made their exit and Neville was left feeling rather bemused at the surreal happenings.
<Present>
Luna arrived in the male Gryffindor dormitory. She was able to make it up the stairs because the Founders of Hogwarts had deemed girls to be more trustworthy than the boys when they created the school. When she arrived, she noticed that her boyfriend and Harry were currently locked in a battle of resolves. Harry was attempting to get Ron out of bed, but he was failing miserably. Almost reduced to begging Ron to get up, Harry played the last card available to him.
"Look Ron, if you don't get up, I'll make Hermione recite Hogwarts: a History whilst using a sonorous spell."
When this failed to cause the desired reaction, Harry resorted to begging.
"Please Ron, just get out of bed."
Luna decided that she'd better intervene or else Ron wouldn't emerge from the dormitory at all that day and she didn't want that, so she announced her presence in a way that would have done Mrs Weasley proud.
"RONALD, GET OUT OF THAT BED NOW!" Luna shouted.
Poor Ron's headache wasn't improving at all. Why couldn't people just take the hint that he didn't want to get out of bed? He felt awful and the bed was really comfy right now. Then his head literally felt like it was exploding as Luna's shrill voice reverberated around inside it. He groaned and tried to get up, knowing that there would be trouble if he didn't; but in doing so, he caught himself in his covers and fell in a heap on the floor.
"You alright?" Harry asked his friend, caught between concern and amusement.
Ron stood and scratched the back of his head nonchalantly and looked at his girlfriend and best friend as if they had just taken away his favourite teddy.
"Go and have a shower Ron, then come down to the common room for a cup of coffee," Luna instructed and then walked off to meet up with the others.
"Looks like you're whipped mate," Harry teased good naturedly.
"Not now, Harry," Ron croaked, rubbing his head mournfully, "I have the world's worst hangover."
A.N.
Ok guys I know that the story hardly progressed at all this chapter, although you did find out who Ginny likes. I'll try and get another chapter up before too long, but if it takes a while, bear with me. I've got some important exams coming up, which I'll need to revise for - less time for writing. If you give me loads of encouragement, I might be able to squeeze one out in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for all your reviews, they really inspire me to write more quickly. I would appreciate any input for future reference. I hope that you follow the way that the story has gone - flashbacks etc, it's fairly straightforward, I think, but if you have any questions, just e-mail me or leave a question on the review board.
As always, please review, as that way I know what you guys like or don't like and what you want to see. I find the long breakdowns of the chapter particularly helpful.
The next few chapters should see things get interesting, as we hear back from Jennifer and Parvati and Neville meet up again for the first time since their drunken snog.
Finally, I have a new work in progress about a Harry / Hermione relationship already established. It's a bit of fluffy fun and should be out in a while. I might post the first chapter here soon, but then again, I might wait until I have finished it. Don't worry, it's not that long and won't take time away from me writing this story.
Until next time
Toodles
Hand Of God