Long Road Towards Maturity by nienie Rating: PG13 Ship: Ron & Luna Canon: Books 1 - 5 Genre: Humor, Romance Status: In progress Length: 17,419 words in 9 chapters Published: 23 Jan 2004 Last updated: 2 Jan 2005 Ron's POV, 7th yr; Harry is temporarily out of the main picture, an insecure Hermione doesn't play very nicely, Ginny is fuming about being left out of some kind of loop, and Draco still gets on Ron’s nerves... What's a bloke gotta do, when the former most insane of people seems to be the sanest of all? How could Looney help him in the escape of immaturity? Drama all over! From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/1644/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Ch 1: Eavesdropping Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; they belong to JK Rowling *** “Ginny! What on earth are you talking about! Honestly! Ron is just being stubborn as usual, it isn’t quite the ‘big deal’ you make it out to be...” Hermione sounded quite annoyed. “Oh, I’m sorry, must be my mistake: I was under the impression of talking to the great Hermione Granger, genius-extraordinaire! Forgive little ignorant me for not understanding how thick you’re being!” Ron Weasley knew very well, that he shouldn’t be eavesdropping, especially on his sister and his best female friend. Though they were both kind of sweet, and just girls, he didn’t want to be facing their wrath once they really were offended... And he supposed standing behind a bookshelf with the Concealment Charm on him while ‘accidentally’ overhearing their conversation wasn’t something that would get him on their good side... It was the start of their last year at Hogwarts, the seventh year... Somehow Harry had managed to vanquish Voldemort last year, with a little help from his friends... And believe it or not, but he’d survived, barely... Unfortunately, this didn’t mean the war was over, yet. While Harry had spent the entire summer at St-Mungo’s, he was to be transferred to the Hogwarts’ Infirmary tomorrow. They believed he’d profit a speedier recovery when closer to his friends... Summer for the rest of them had unfortunately not been any different from the ones they’d had ever since their fourth year... A long secluded stay at the Headquarters (without Harry). Because, you see, the world hadn’t believed Voldemort was gone, once and for all. Death Eaters, instead of being hunted down, were continuing hiding themselves and carrying out attacks. Don’t get it wrong: the good side was definitely winning, but there was so much chaos after that blasted war, it wasn’t safe, especially for them, to go out and about. Which in itself was quite ridiculous, according to Ron, since it had been them, after all, who’d stood up to Voldemort himself with a dozen or so Death Eaters. The fact that it had all been Death Eaters in training, and Harry had ultimately taken out the Big Bad was totally irrelevant to Ron... They were able to take care of themselves, and damn- it, he was of age, wasn’t he? Apparently that did not mean much to his mum (big surprise there) and consequently, he’d spent his summer cooped up with the permanent residents. Basically that held his little sister, his mother, Hermione, Looney Lovegood, oh and who could forget the lovely albino ex-Death Eater... As for why Luna was there: her father had been receiving death threats from some crazy anti-Quibbler loon last year and had immediately thought he was next on Voldemort’s hit list. Though he was clueless about the existence of the Order until this day, he’d begged Dumbledore to protect his precious during the summer while he would valiantly stay at his office and continue the noble task of writing the truth... As for the son of a *itch of a Malfoy, well he’d weaselled his way into the Order through that greasy git Snape. Ron grudgingly admitted that in the end things could’ve gotten a lot bloodier if it hadn’t been for the two bastards, and that if anyone had needed the protection of the Grimmauld Place, it would’ve been Draco Malfoy. He’d sold out the where-abouts of the initiation meeting, thus giving them an opportunity to save Ginny, again, from the clutches of the twisted wizard... The little red-head had been kidnapped for Merlin-knows what precise reason, but given the usual fate of female prisoners, it wouldn’t have been to woo her... So it had been Malfoy’s tip-off in the end that had given Harry the chance to fullfil the prophecy... Anyway, this all meant in the end that he’d spent his whole summer fighting with the cocky Slytherin, and eliciting the wrath of all the hot-headed women in the house, which was basically everyone besides Luna... He’d missed Harry a lot, and the few visits to him at St-Mungo’s, passing a whole garrison of guards and wards had been too short and too infrequent. To top all of it, he had barely had any alone-time with Hermione... He felt only slightly guilty at expecting more attention from the pretty bookworm now that Harry was out of the picture for a little while... Don’t get him wrong, he would do anything for Harry, and he really did miss his best mate, but he’d hoped Hermione and him would’ve at last had a chance of becoming more than friends this summer... He’d been dropping hints all of the last two years: compliments, girlie presents, ... But he still didn’t know exactly where she stood about it. Sometimes he could almost swear she really hadn’t a clue, but that couldn’t be the case now could it? However annoying it was at times, she really was the cleverest witch he’d ever met. So maybe she wasn’t sure of her own feelings, or maybe she wasn’t sure how to react, or maybe she was just waiting for him to do the ultimate move? Never in all his doubts did he allow himself to loose hope too much by thinking maybe she really didn’t like him that way and just didn’t know how to break it to him. But he couldn’t help but realising that with this being their last year, they’d be graduated and then their lives would start. And Ron had this whole plan in his head of the future... He would get himself a job that paid well, and he would start a family of his own. Maybe if... Well, he couldn’t deny he’d like Hermione to be in this picture as well, and Harry would be the godfather of his children of course... It would also be really great if Harry could get hooked up with Ginny once and for all. That would mean they’d really get to be brothers, and of course since Ginny had to have still feelings for Harry, so that would make his baby sister happy as well. Besides, he didn’t like the way she’d started to stick up for the slimy Slytherin this summer... She really needed the stability of a good relationship. So with this in mind he decided he really should get his act together and try to get more of her attention this school year... But as usual it had backfired a bit, and they’d ended up arguing again: something about Head Girl duties being far more important then watch him flying on his brand-new racing broom... So after sulking for an hour, he’d returned to the common room determined to try and stay calm and not blotch up another chance... She had moved to the library to look some or the other thing up... Splendid... When Ron trudged through the corridors he bolstered himself up for going into the library. Last year a somewhat extremely embarrassing thing happened to him there, involving a squeaking and moaning quill, spurting out white goo in all directions (compliments of his twin brothers) And he just knew Madam Pince was going to watch him like a hawk the moment he set foot in her territory. If she saw that he wasn’t there to browse any of her beloved books, she would most probably just throw him out. That’s when a light bulb had gone off inside his head: the Concealment Charm. They’d worked on it in the reformed DA last year, and he was actually quite good at them! Searching aisle after aisle unnoticed he’d finally found Hermione, but was surprised to see Ginny there, too! The girls both seemed rather worked up about something, and hearing his name, he thought it could be quite interesting to hear this one out. “... Forgive little ignorant me for not understanding how thick you’re being!” Ron involuntary winced at that: this wasn’t going to be pretty. Nobody called Hermione thick! “Thick? Me?” Hermione was actually so shocked she couldn’t get out anything else. “Yes, you! How long are you going to avoid him? You have to know by now he’s got a thing for you!” Ron saw Hermione falter for a moment and he was a bit more then just confused: what the hell was going on there? Ginny wasn’t seriously meddling with his social life, now was she? Apparently Ginny had picked up on some of the crumbled composure of the Head Girl, because she extended an accusing finger: “I knew it! You do know!” Hermione only looked the younger witch straight in the eye, pursing her lips tightly together. Ron felt hope surging: now that strong front was going to crack and she was going to confess that she had been too shy to act on her wish to be with him... But Hermione just rigidly stared back at Ginny, surrendering not an option. Ron saw Ginny’s face go red all the way. “You were planning to keep him hanging for how long, Hermione?” Ron was confused; did he just miss something? Still Hermione didn’t make any moves. “How long have you known he fancied you? Since the beginning? Since fifth year? Were you just going to leave him hanging in case you didn’t find any one better, so you’d always have a back-up?” Ron was starting to get where this was heading but wasn’t exactly willing to except the significance. Finally Hermione spoke, through clenched teeth: “Do you really believe me so low as to do something like this to one of my best friends?” Taking a deep resolved breath she continued, a little less certain of herself: “I really didn’t know for a long time, I denied it a long time after, and by the time I really worked out the confusion I foolishly thought he’d be over it” “Obviously not!” Ginny and Hermione once again were competing in a staring contest, but Ron wasn’t exactly paying attention. Until Ginny spat: “You know, I think I actually believe the self-denial-part. Which makes me wonder... Did you leave Ron hanging out of spite? As a means of getting revenge for your own unrequited feelings?” That statement hung in the air for about five very loaded seconds. Ron hadn’t even noticed he was holding his breath. Hermione’s fisted knuckles were white from holding in the anger, and he saw her take a very controlled breath, and force herself to keep her voice down: “Besides the fact that my feelings are none of your business, this is not the place for this discussion...” “None of my business!?! You keep feeding my brother false hope! You love him as just a best friend, even brother maybe, that’s fine with me...” Ginny’s voice was a lot less hard now, almost pleading: “But don’t let him make a fool out of himself any more! And as for your unrequited feelings, I’ll admit it’s none of my business, but don’t pine away for someone who doesn’t return the feelings, Hermione...” Ron watched Hermione turn sheet-white while she hastily packed up her books. Ginny was biting her lip as if just realising she’d been a bit too far. But just as Hermione was going to leave Ginny right there, the younger witch grabbed her wrist: “You’ll talk to Ron, won’t you?” Hermione managed one sharp nod and quickly yanked her wrist free. Ron barely knew what to do. He was thoroughly confused and his usual Weasley temper was bubbling up, if he hadn’t been under the concealment charm even a blind man would’ve seen steam coming out of his very red ears. He finally understood that you could feel a lot of emotions at the same time, but what he still didn’t understand is how a person would not burst in such a situation. Ron felt foremost disappointment: Hermione didn’t like him back. Well, apparently not in that way. Hermione was smitten with someone else, who didn’t like her back: who was it? Krum? But last he heard they were still pen palls even if Hermione had finally admitted they weren’t dating because she didn’t feel that way for him... Was it someone he knew? Jealousy mingled with the over-protectiveness he felt for Hermione: maybe there was still hope? He could beat the unknown bloody git to a pulp for hurting her feelings, and he could maybe still have a chance with her? Because, well, she admitted loving him, but as a best friend, didn’t she? Or was that Ginny? No matter, though he would have a talk with the little nosy witch later... Anyway, she could grow to love him as more, no? Right now, in his confused haze he was unconsciously stalking Hermione. Second nature, he shrugged away the guilt. He was quite good at stealth if he did say so himself. He recognised the path she was taking as the way to her private Head Girl chambers. She had let him, Ginny, Luna and Neville inside the first day after the sorting, as they’d made her promise to show the Head chambers the moment she got the letter confirming she had been chosen. She had been very careful not to reveal her password, but now Ron was standing close enough to hear her talking to the portrait of the Thin Man. “I want to change my password!” Ron had difficulty remembering when the last time was he’d heard Hermione so... defeated. “You know the rules, darling! First the old one, then the new one! Okidoki?” Hermione’s patience was wearing thin, years of experience wit her weren’t totally lost on Ron. But it looked like she was on the verge of tears, and that wasn’t a common thing for Hermione to be on... Ron’s anger had subsided a bit seeing her like that, but he was still extremely annoyed with her. “Green eyes” Hermione whispered, one tear rolling almost unnoticed from her cheek. Furiously she wiped it away, and spat at the painting: “Virginia Malfoy” as her new password. *** please review ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Ch 2: Kissing Hermione *** “Green eyes” Hermione whispered, one tear rolling almost unnoticed from her cheek. Furiously she wiped it away, and spat at the painting: “Virginia Malfoy” as her new password. *** While Ron was trying to digest this new information, he almost missed following her in before the portrait snapped shut. No, it couldn’t be, could it? His sister was not dating Malfoy was she? Shivers ran along his spine: no it was probably Hermione’s reaction to Ginny’s biting words, right? Then something else occurred to him: green eyes... His mind jumping to conclusions had often gotten him into trouble, especially with Hermione, but really, who else could it be? Without thinking he blurted out: “You’re sweet on Harry?” Hermione had been dumping all her books on her desk and now jumped almost a foot into the air, sweeping all the contents from it and extending her wand in his general direction, yelling: “Expelliare!” In her hysteria, Hermione Granger had mispronounced a spell, and in any other situation Ron would’ve been very glad to point this out to her. However he was so busy mentally berating himself for opening his big mouth, that he didn’t notice Hermione squinting in his direction and frantically muttering the revealing charm. “Ron!” Hermione was like the proverbial deer caught in headlights (Ron had especially looked up some Muggle sayings up, so he knew he was using it the right way). But he was a kind of one-trail-thought-man. “You’re sweet on Harry!” Ron repeated. Hermione, instead of blushing like he’d expect a normal person too, paled and tried to look disapproving: “I am most certainly not sweet on Harry...” Her voice cracking almost imperceptibly, and one of her upper eyelids had trouble staying fully open. But in the mean time Ron was doing some thinking of his own: some things started to click inside his mind. It made perfect sense: she had to fancy Harry! But being who he was, he couldn’t keep the next question in: “Why? Why him and not me? Why couldn’t you...?” “Get out” Hermione spoke; she didn’t scream, she was still standing there trembling, looking sickly with her pale face and reddening nose. Ron was looking at her, almost amazed. She avoided his accusing gaze and saw the pile of chaos next to her desk. Without acknowledging him anymore, she sank to her knees and started piling up the books and notes. She looked robotic in her actions, and her breathing sounded forced. Her hands were still trembling, and despite the anger and disappointment Ron felt, he couldn’t convince himself that she deserved the emotional pain, how ever much he tried. Standing there looking at her bowed head and slumped shoulders, he couldn’t help but feel sorry, even if he wasn’t really the one who caused this. He carefully stepped closer to Hermione. She seemed to stiffen up. He stopped and bent down to help her with the mess. The silence was loaded and Hermione started sniffling. Ron was praying to all gods he ever heard of, she wouldn’t start sobbing on him. He saw her take out a tissue and blow her nose. Finally she lifted her head, and looked back; she wasn’t crying per se, but her eyes were brimming with unshed tears, and her nose had definitely been running: she looked miserable. “I’m sorry, Ron... I don’t know where everyone gets that silly idea that I’m pining after Harry, I don’t pine! But... This is kind of awkward because you never really said anything about it before, but... I don’t want to hurt you, but... I see you as a friend, I... don’t have any other kind of feelings for you” Hermione seemed at loss for words, and was awaiting something. Oh, yes, she was probably just waiting for him to blow up at her. Funny, but he didn’t feel like loosing his temper; that must have been a first. Amazed at himself he was staring at Hermione’s still not so healthy looking face showing apprehension and something else. Was it tiredness? Or maybe relief at finally having said this? Whatever made him do it, he would never be able to tell. But he burst out in laughter. There he was, laughing at a dumbfounded Hermione, who was standing there looking more vulnerable then he’d ever seen her. When she managed to collect enough anger inside of her, she pointed a finger towards the entrance shrieking: “Get out, you, insufferable wart!” When he didn’t move she stomped up to him and she tried pushing his much stronger body towards the exit, he was merely chuckling anymore, watching the pink spots high on her cheeks that always appeared when she got particularly angry, “You insensitive... animal! Would you get out already!” Ron felt much better after having that laugh. He still didn’t really understand how he didn’t feel more anger toward Hermione or jealousy toward Harry, but for right now it didn’t matter. So he would have to change the prospects of his future: it suddenly didn’t seem quite the end of the world as Hermione’s unexplainable reaction was. Wasn’t he supposed to be the one to dramatise everything in the trio? Well, except for exams, homework and revising, of course... He gripped the witch’s wrists since she had started to pound on his chest when she saw he wouldn’t move. He grinned at her tired and flushed face. “You know, you almost always seem to forget you’re a witch in these moments. If you wanted to get rid of me, you should’ve banished me” Looking sheepish for a minute, Hermione tried to free her hands to do just as he suggested. Glaring at him she said: “Let go of me, Ron Weasley, or I’ll hex you so you won’t be able to sit properly for a week” “Ah, there’s the Hermione we all know and find annoying!” Hermione didn’t seem to find this amusing in the least. She just burst into tears. Ron cursed his big mouth for the thousandth time in his life. Hermione tried to move away from him and hide her tears, but by some miracle he had the sense to give her a supporting hug, well he thought it was a supporting hug, anyway... First she seemed to want to break free from it, but eventually she let him try and calm her. If Ron had worried about standing there long, he needn’t have. He ought to know Hermione wasn’t the sort of girl who’d indulge in long bouts of sobbing when people were around to witness it. Soon her breathing became more regular, and she looked up at him. He looked into those desperate eyes and couldn’t resist, despite the mess she was, with tears everywhere and her hair somehow more frizzy then ever, he lowered his lips to hers. He just had to know that feeling of kissing Hermione... It was wet, mostly, but she didn’t push him away, so that should be a good sign wouldn’t it? Ron was waiting for the big moment when he’d feel all the snitches go off inside his chest like Bill had told him once, but it never came. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t quite what he’d expected either. Bewildered he drew back and looked at her. Hermione looked at him like he’d grown another head, but when she saw his confusion her expression mellowed. Ron asked: “What just happened?” Hermione frowned, and Ron supposed she had every right to, since it was probably she who should’ve asked that. “You kissed me” “Am I a bad kisser?” Carefully Hermione shook her head, obviously not really knowing where this would lead, but not about to lie to her best friend... “Then why was it not good?” Hermione cocked her head to the side, looking at him with a little of understanding in her eyes. Ron actually felt relieved this happened with Hermione, since she knew him, and she understood somehow what he meant by his question. “Because we aren’t in love?” She’s asking him? How the hell should he know? “But, how come? I mean we kind of like each other, no? We’re best friends! And we have passion! We banter all the time! And...” Ron trailed his sentence off when he saw Hermione shake her head. “Ron, I do love you, but I’m not in love with you... and as for passion; passion should be invigorating. We quarrel all the time; and to be quite honest, it’s more exhausting then anything else” Ron was not ready to give up: “But that could change, couldn’t it? We could stop fighting, and learn to get along better, and then we could fall in love!” Hermione smiled sadly: “Ron, that would mean we’d both have to change so much, we wouldn’t be ourselves anymore! You’d want me to take more time off for Merlin knows what mischief, and I’d want you to be more serious and supporting. You can’t base a relationship on something that isn’t real, can you?” “You’re just the regular know-it-all, aren’t you?” “No, Ron, I’m far from knowing it all. And don’t look at me like that, I’ll deny I ever said this!” Stepping out of his embrace, she brushed her cloak for wrinkles, “It took me long enough to realise this whole thing, and I was so sure I was going to loose you as a friend if you ever found out I didn’t return your feelings...” His feelings... disappointment flooded him again, but no anger accompanied it this time, just a dull sadness. But something else occurred to him suddenly. “Hey! Wait a minute! Ginny isn’t dating Malfoy is she?” Hermione frowned: “Why would you think that?” “Well, I heard your new password, and I don’t like the way she keeps defending him...” Hermione rolled her eyes: “Ron... She doesn’t defend him, she just wanted you to stop bickering this summer like you were two little boys proving you were the most immature men ever to walk on the face of earth. And for the password: we had a... discussion earlier and some harsh things were said, and I just took it out on her by naming her Malfoy since her remarks reminded me of him. I’ll change it first thing” Ron didn’t notice she hadn’t confirmed nor denied if they were dating or not. He was distracted by the sad look that had come back in her eyes. He wanted to know what had been the deal with Harry. It was kind of obvious to him now, that she did want him to be more than just her best friend. But he didn’t want to discuss this with her right now. “So I guess I should be going now?” Hermione seemed quite relieved that he didn’t ask any further. Quietly she walked him to the portrait. Hearing the painting snap shut behind him, Ron’s thoughts went back to Harry. Did that bloke know how lucky he was? Ron couldn’t for the life of him remember a time when Harry had shown anything besides deep friendship and caring for Hermione. Actually, now that he thought about it, he’d been quite distant towards her after the defeat of Voldemort. The few times they had been allowed to visit him during the summer, Harry had acted very companionable with him. But really, they had been like two best mates with the tag-along Hermione. In the past, that feeling if imbalance in the trio had come from him, and Harry had silently went along with it, while Hermione didn’t care all that much since she had her books anyway. But this summer it had been definitely coming from Harry, and Ron of course hadn’t noticed then, and probably it had hurt Hermione more then he’d ever understand. Ron’s head hurt from all this thinking; he would definitely try to have a word with Harry tomorrow. The git would be transferred in the morning, so hopefully he’d find alone time with his best mate by the end of the day... But for now, he had some unfinished business with a certain female Weasley. *** please review ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. A notice Hey everyone! First of all, I want to thank those of you who have taken the time to review this story... It means a lot to hear that people like reading what I write... Secondly, I want to apologize for not answering sooner about why I haven’t been updating for a while... I'm truly sorry, to have kept you all waiting, but I do have a lot of work outside of my fantasy-world, and that has been taking first place on my priority-list lately... But for all of those out there who were wondering if I stopped writing... NEVER! (well, maybe some time, but not yet) Anyway, what I'm trying to say, is... I have gotten permission at the yahoo-group Prefect Blends to post my unfinished stuff there! That is to say: I normally don't like posting work in progress, or create shorter chapters, just to post sooner, but I was starting to get e-mails from worrying readers, who thought I'd stopped writing. So, if you want to have a bit of a taste on what's about to happen in the second chapter: just visit this site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/prefectblends/; go for 'Files', 'Unfinished Business', 'Nienie', and you'll find pieces of chapters that are being worked on by me... Enjoy! xxx, nienie PS: By the way, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve been working on a little spin-off of ‘Love is Hope, Life After…’: it’s called ‘Basical Caring’, and it’s about the Remus/Tonks relationship... Since I write ‘Love is Hope…’ from Hermione’s point of view, I can’t very well describe the more... naughty bits of Remus and Tonk’s relationship in that fic… Anyway Portkey doesn’t support the Remus/Nymphadora ship so I can’t post it there, and I don’t want to risk a pure NC-17 fic at Fanfiction.net, so you can read ‘Basical Caring’ at the yahoo group Prefect Blends, or at AdultFanFiction.Net under the penname ‘Stietoe’… If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to mail me at nienie_gonagal@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Ch 3: Whoops... *** Ron’s head hurt from all this thinking; he would definitely try to have a word with Harry tomorrow. The git would be transferred in the morning, so hopefully he’d find alone time with his best mate by the end of the day... But for now, he had some unfinished business with a certain female Weasley. *** If there was some logical side of Ron Weasley’s mind, he would know not to be too angry with his sister. After all, she hadn’t really meant to hurt Hermione, she had just let her temper get the best of her when she thought she was watching out for her brother. And as for the whole Draco Malfoy thing... Ron supposed that he should recognise the fact that it had all been thanks to the slimy albino that Ginny was not only alive, but ‘undamaged’ as well. But that didn’t mean he was her hero! Harry and him had been there too! Even Neville, Hermione and Luna, but they were hardly candidates for knights in shining armours... Not that he really was either, but... Urgh, this just got too confusing! Besides, it wasn’t like she really defended the little ferret, but there had been times this summer when she hadn’t exactly backed her brother up like she should have. Well, even Ron Weasley could admit that the times Ginny didn’t choose his side completely, but stayed neutral, were the fights where both he and Malfoy were utterly ridiculous and childish. But it was the principle! So the real reason why he was bellowing at her that she wore her skirt too short, and that their mum would kill her if she knew... was more of stress-relief. Really there was nothing better to calm complicated thoughts than a bit of brotherly complaining... Never mind that it wasn’t entirely rational to do so... Of course, Ginny hadn’t found it remotely funny that he had ‘embarrassed’ her in front of the whole Gryffindor common room, and he was kind of thinking about worrying for Ginny’s retaliation. But then his stomach took charge and told him it was time to go over to the Great Hall for dinner. It was weird doing the trek all alone... Tomorrow Harry would arrive at the castle, but he would still be in the Hospital Wing... And Hermione was going to be Head Girl all year... He supposed if he kept rattling Ginny it wouldn’t be an option to go down with her either, not that he wanted to, after all she was just his little sister! How pathetic would he look if he came down with her all the time! Settling at the Gryffindor table he treated himself with as much food as possible. After a while of talking alternately with Dean and Seamus, and some of his Quidditch team-mates, he understood Hermione wasn’t likely to show up at dinner. Ron felt disappointment, but it still amazed him he didn’t get really angry... Maybe after a good night’s sleep thins would start to get less confusing. *** Ron was back at Godric’s Hollow. He had been fending off some masked Death Eaters in training for a while now, and it was starting to wear him down. Ginny had been unconscious the whole time, and he fervently hoped they weren’t too late. Because otherwise his mother would kill him, letting her baby girl be taken away. And then he’d come back from the dead and kill Malfoy, for being too late with his information... He was taken out of his musings by a sideways curse. Not prepared for it, he felt one leg freeze up and he lost his balance. The slime-ball he had been duelling, saw this as a perfect opportunity to curse him into oblivion, and Ron watched the tip of that wand pointed at him with dread. But before the malevolent beam left the wand it clattered to the ground. Confused Ron tried to understand what in the name of Merlin had happened, when he saw his tired sister on wobbly knees, crouching before him. Relief that she was as all right as could be for the moment, he found the strength to fight the curse on his leg and stand up. In a flash he saw a bloody rock in one of her hands, and the wand of his previous opponent in the other. Ginny saw him look at the wand and she shot him a questioning gaze. She wanted to know where her own wand was. He shouted the name to her immediately. They hadn’t time for chit-chat just then, and were separated quickly shielding themselves from a second wave of curses. Ron saw Ginny run over towards Luna, helping her, and retrieving her own wand in the process. But he was a bit preoccupied himself just then. He wanted to go help Harry and Hermione, who were busy attacking Voldemort, and trying to keep him from apparating away. Then, several things happened at once. Hermione was taken from behind by one of the hooded blokes, distracting Harry. Voldemort took this opportunity to discover Draco was there, and that the young Malfoy had betrayed him. Ron relived the unbelievable sight in his dream. Voldemort had cast a Cruciatus, destined for Malfoy, but someone had jumped in front of him. Neville... Draco had blinked owlishly at the writhing body of the clumsy Gryffindor before him, not believing he’d just been saved from excruciating pain... by him of all people... Voldemort had been sufficiently surprised, as to not hold up the curse very long. He must’ve seen Harry’s guard down, because he dismissed the Malfoy traitor and rounded back suddenly. Ron saw his friend unprepared, and without thinking he bolted in between. Catching the curse mid-stomach, he cried out in pain. Howling he fell to his knees, and heard a female voice screeching his name. Vaguely he saw bushy hair bending over him, putting a sleeping charm on him. He felt the pain ebbing as his consciousness slipped away. He felt Hermione’s soothing hands brush his hair from his forehead, and believed everything would turn out all right. Then the dream began to take form into scenes he hadn’t experienced himself, but had heard others talk about. Floating above his body he saw a scene that was destined to become legendary. While Hermione sat with his head on her lap, she was surrounded by two of the most powerfull wizards of her time, facing off in what would be their final battle. Harry had this gleam in his eyes, the sign of a powerful emotion, akin to hate, but not really that... Voldemort’s read eyes flashed his all-consuming hatred when he raised his wand to the bane of his existence. A green flash shot from the wand, and Harry didn’t move away. He just stood there, and let his wand take the curse. Harry watched the wood of his wand burn up until only the core was visible. Phoenix feathers didn’t perish... and this one just floated before the young wizard. Everyone still conscious on the scene was watching in astonishment how Harry had somehow avoided getting killed, again. And then... then something indescribable happened. None of the people he’d asked, could tell him exactly what happened in that moment. So Ron had pieced it together with his own imagination... The feather in front of Harry started to sing vibrantly, shattering Voldemort’s own wand, and bringing forth the feather’s brother. When the sounds of the Phoenix’ song grew louder and less appealing, the air crackled of magic between the two wizards, having Hermione and himself in the middle of it. A flash of white light, or energy, fed by the build up of raw magic flashed between the two wizards. No one could tell exactly what happened between the flash, and the two wizards falling... *** Ron shot awake, sweating. It had been a while since he had this dream… He thought he’d be over it by now. It had been horrible the day after. He’d woken up in the Hospital Wing, alone in the middle of the night. He’d been in a right fit of panic. And had stumbled out of bed, despite the soreness in his stomach. Pomfrey must’ve heard him stumbling around because she had been there right away with a sleeping draught, refusing to answer his demands. She’d only humphed that he’d better thank Miss Granger for saving his life, because without her spell, he’d have died of the Slicing Curse. The following morning, very early, he’d woken up to find Luna in the bed beside him, watching him as if waiting for him to wake up. She had answered his questions patiently, disregarding his cursing and frustration about being powerless to go out of his bed, to which he had been magically restrained. Voldemort was dead, not just dead, but pulverised; his soul, or whatever it was he had, destroyed as well, never to be heard about again. But at what price? Harry was in St-Mungo’s and they hadn’t had many hopes for him to come out of his coma... Trying to change the course of his thoughts - Harry would be alright now, after all - he came back to events of the day before. Ginny scolding Hermione, and then the scene with Hermione… *** It was way too early in the morning when Ron got his wake-up-call from the beloved Head-Girl. Hermione, already dressed and looking fresh, was standing there in the boys’ dorm and this fact made him so confused that all he could do was blink stupidly at her. He’d been up most of the night thinking all of the new information over, so he really wasn’t in a very clear state of mind. “Do you mind?!” Ron prided himself in remembering to keep his voice down, even though he could feel his ear shells heat up: a sure sign he was loosing it. Not disturbed in the least Hermione sat down on his bed: “No, not at all” Ron was sure he was doing a great imitation of a fish on dry land, but before he could get coherent enough to... well, do something, other then staring at her stupidly, she trust something in his hands. “Sign this” Now Ron’s eyes almost did pop out. “Are you completely bonkers? Have you lost your marbles? You come here at this ungodly hour, in the boys’ dorm, and you just want me to sign something?” Hermione merely rolled her eyes at his legitimate demands, and said calmly: “I just want you to promise me you won’t tell Harry, nor anyone else, anything of what happened last night...” “And why would I promise that?” “Because you’re my best friend and you want to respect my wishes?” “I’d like for you to respect my wishes and let me bloody well sleep!” “Just sign, and I’ll be out of here, please?” Hermione’s tone was anything but pleading, but Ron had had enough, and he grabbed her quill and signed the damn thing. Throwing it back at her carelessly, he turned around in his bed with every intention of getting back to sleep. But then he heard Hermione call out for him from the door: “You have exactly 10 minutes to get ready before he gets here...” By the time Ron worked out it meant he had to hurry if he wanted to be there for Harry’s ‘welcome back to Hogwarts’, Hermione had closed the door behind her. Rushing to get a quick shower and making him somewhat presentable, his mind started waking up gradually. Something told him that there was something he’d missed, but he shrugged it away, telling himself he’d think about it later. Ron arrived just in time to see the now visible to him thestrals pull the carriage containing Harry and his ‘guards’ in front of the castle. First Tonks and Remus got out, then they helped Harry a little. It wasn’t that Harry had any real injuries left: all physical evidence of battle had long since disappeared and healed. But something strange had happened when Harry had defeated Voldemort. Since Ron wasn’t clear on the details of what had happened, and the Healers couldn’t tell them what would cause his physical decay, Ron stubbornly believed that it was nothing, and that it would go away in time… Fortunately, word hadn’t come out of Harry’s arrival time at Hogwarts, or there would be herds of students, where now there were a selected few. McGonagall and Pomfrey were there, and besides him and Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville had come, too. Harry was smiling, but Ron could see it wasn’t reaching his eyes. Once he’d been installed in his private room inside of the Hospital Wing, it hadn’t been long before he claimed feeling tired, and Pomfrey shooed them out real quick. Ron had been disappointed, but he saw Hermione wasn’t betraying any emotion. It was then he started to wonder when she had become so good at hiding her feelings… And what amazed him even more, was that Harry had avoided talking, or even speaking to Hermione, other then what was strictly necessary for politeness… Of course a secret at Hogwarts never manages to stay just that... A Hufflepuff student, who apparently had trouble with insomnia, had gotten a glimpse of the famous boy early in the morning, and couldn’t wait to tell her housemates. This meant that by the break at 10 am the whole school had been notified. Consequently the Hospital Ward had been closed off for all visitors, except medical emergencies. Before lunch a bunch of reporters had camped out at the entrance of Hogwarts, having left the St-Mungo’s peripheral at the first word of his transfer. By lunch, one of the reporters had taken things as far as Polyjuicing herself in a student, and broken her arm on purpose, just to get a glimpse of Harry. After that incident, Dumbledore had taken matters into his own hands, and banished all reporters from Hogwarts’ grounds, and having a stern talking to the students, at lunch break. It was after Dumbledore’s speech that Ron let his thoughts wander back to his two best friends. Was he the only one who noticed this change? How long exactly had it been going on? Ron could only think of after that battle with Voldemort… Was he supposed to do anything about it? Talk to Harry about it? But… Choking on his steak he saw Marrietta’s little sister sit in front of him, a second year having been sorted into Gryffindor to the great shame of her Ravenclaw-filled family… His head hurt by a sudden realising! Hermione had made him sign a promise, a promise not to talk to Harry, or anyone else, about what happened. It wasn’t like he was needing the ‘talk-with-my-best-friend-about-my-feelings’, not in an eternity! But he’d signed something of Hermione’s… And… Looking at Hermione, he saw her lifting an eyebrow at him as if she knew perfectly well, he’d only just realised what she’d done… Ron felt suddenly very cold… *** PLEASE: review! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Ch 4: Insert Luna *** September 1st 1997, Dear Diary, Every year, since my 11th birthday, I get one of you on September the first. That’s my birthday, you see. So every year I start with introducing myself to the new you…Though I do hope you’re not going to reply… Hello, I am Luna Artemis Lovegood. Today was my sixteenth birthday. As every year I got one of you from my dad. I suppose he doesn’t know what else to get me. But it’s ok to me. No one else remembered my birthday, but that is because I never told anyone when it is. I normally live near St-Ottery-Catchpole, but now I’m at Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My father owns the best magazine ever written: The Quibbler. He’s the only one not afraid to write the truth, and I’m so proud of him. At school I’ve been sorted into Ravenclaw, the same house my mother was in. My mother died when I was little, it was very messy. She was very brilliant, and she liked to experiment. But then, because of me, something went wrong, and ever since I’ve been able to see thestrals. Before Hogwarts, my dad was my only friend, and I suppose he still is. I don’t have any friends in my own house at Hogwarts, but I do suppose Ginny Weasley from Gryffindor tries to be my friend. I know her from before Hogwarts. She lives not too far from me, and we met sometimes in the Muggle playground when we were younger. But we were never close. I knew her brothers a bit too, before Hogwarts. They were always playing pranks on everybody. One day one of the Weasley brothers threw sand in my eyes. It was Ronald. I think it was then that I fell in love with him… Then there’s the Weasley’s friends: Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. They’re all in Gryffindor, too. I suppose they’re not that bad. Harry Potter is nice to me, but I think he pities me. Neville reminds me of a deer, he’s easily startled, you see. But then a more chubby deer… Hermione Granger is … well… She’s very brilliant, and in that way she reminds me of how my mother used to be. But she’s also very close-minded. She says she can’t believe something unless she’s seen proof. But she keeps up with Spew even when it’s been proven to be a lost cause… I suppose she doesn’t like to admit she’s wrong. I think she gets irritated with me, but she doesn’t show it as much as she used to. Maybe she’s getting a more open mind? I don’t know if I’d ever want to be her friend? Well, even if she’d want to be mine… I know she’d never take any of my things without asking, but that doesn’t mean she would want to be my friend. Besides, she is my rival, after all. I know how Ronald tries to catch her attention, and I know what it means… Sometimes I ask myself if I’d have a chance to make Ronald understand that I am meant to be with him? Even if it wasn’t for Hermione Granger? I do not think so… It is written in the stars that I am Ronald’s, of that I am sure. But I haven’t found any sign of the fates that he would ever be mine… And I suppose it’s to be like that. Him never being mine… After all, I’m named after the Maiden of the moon… The goddess used to protect her purity going to great lengths, so maybe this was the way the fates secured her to be untouched… These thoughts have been plaguing me for some time now. And since Father wasn’t around this summer I couldn’t rely on his help to find out what all the fuss was about purity and how you could lose said purity… You see this summer I was staying at Harry Potter’s house. Not that he was there: he was still in the hospital. You probably should know that there has been a bit of a war these last years. But it’s all over now. Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort, and I was there when it happened. I don’t really recall a lot, except a bright light and a lot of magic in the air. But I was a bit preoccupied with the sight of my Ronald severely injured, in the arms of Hermione Granger… Anyway, I tried asking Mrs. Weasley, she was our guardian, but she acted all funny and said that a young girl shouldn’t go around asking about that. So I wrote a letter to Father, like I should’ve done in the first place, and he promised he’d send some books over… I haven’t gotten them yet, but I am sure Father will give me access to the truth. In the mean time, I have my classes to prepare for. I should probably inform you that I did reasonably well on my OWLs last year, despite getting distracted by the war. This means I have considerate amount of courses this year, and they’re all advanced, so it will be a bit of an adjustment. So I have to conclude this entry, since tomorrow I’m supposed to get up early to see Harry Potter arrive back to the castle from the hospital. Until next time, L.A. Lovegood *** Ron wasn’t having the best of times keeping his food down… He’d just realised Hermione had tricked him into signing an agreement! Well, if he had kept his head on his shoulders this morning she wouldn’t have tricked him… But, damnit! She knew full well he wasn’t awake enough! Pushing his chair away from the Gryffindor table, he looked pointedly to the Head Girl. At least she had the sense to blush a little. Forsaking his food (this had to be a first) he walked out of the Great Hall, trying his best not to stomp. Once he was out of the doors, he paced in the corridor waiting for Hermione to come out as well. If she wasn’t there in the next five minutes, he would go back there and drag her out. Normally he wouldn’t have cared a lot about making a scene in the middle of the student population, at least not until later, but he was too scared of what might happen to him if he betrayed Hermione’s secret… Luckily the blasted girl just came through the door. Ron couldn’t keep it in anymore: “What the bloody hell did you do to me!” Hermione seemed pretty much unaffected by his anger. Before he could shout at her in earnest, he saw a second year Hufflepuff coming by. So he grabbed Hermione’s elbow and dragged her to an empty classroom. He calmed a little when she was the one casting a Privacy Charm on the room. He felt like he’d sooner blasted them into oblivion instead of casting any charm properly… Rounding on Hermione he prepared himself to shout at his friend, but stopped when he saw her pulling out a parchment. Crossing his arms over his chest, he tried to be as intimidating as possible: “Is that what I signed?” “Yes” That was all she had to offer? Working himself in an angry fit again, his ears warmed up considerately. But again, before he could start telling her what he thought of her, she shoved the parchment under his nose. Ron made a show of taking it from her in a great huff. He read it through quickly, and then reread it just to be sure: The person who signs agrees not to speak to anyone, safe agreed person, about the conversation that took place between Hermione Granger and himself on September first 1997, from four o’clock in the afternoon, until seven that same evening. Neither will he repeat to anyone, safe agreed person, that he signed this agreement. If he does break these arrangement his sentence will be: A week of suffering the undeniable urge to kiss Draco Malfoy senseless; Hermione Granger would like to press on the fact that the urge will not be denied, not by dreamless sleep potions or any counter-curse. Since the need could come to discuss these forbidden topics with someone other then Hermione Granger, there will be room in this arrangement for a certain person to confide in. Hermione Granger feels that only one person is totally trustable with these facts, and this person is Luna A. Lovegood. This binding contract has been signed by Ronald Billius Weasley Bugger, and double bugger! Bloody hell, this was even worse then he thought! The time-limit restricted even the fact that he overheard the conversation between Hermione and his sister! And kiss Draco Malfoy! He felt like he would lose the little bit of food he had managed to eat before he made his realisation… Feeling green, he spat out: “How considerate of you to let me talk about it with Looney Lovegood!” “Don’t call her that!” “Since when are you her best friend? You trust her, but not me! You have to do this! Because you don’t think you can trust me!” “Well, if you’re all trustworthy, why are you afraid of this bit of parchment? If you’re not planning on talking to anyone about this, then why are you scared?!” “I’m not scared!” Ron squeaked out to his own horror. He hated it when she made sense! But it was still wrong! He was the wronged party here! Hermione’s stance calmed a bit, but she was still very defensive: “Look, Ron, I’m sorry, but you have to understand… I can’t deal with this… It’s fine if it’s just rumours and all, but I couldn’t… I just don’t want to find out how Harry… Look, I just don’t want him to know, alright? It’s my choice… Please?” She looked a lot more like a little girl then he’d ever seen her. She really didn’t want Harry to know about her… Well, he took a deep breath to keep his irritation in check: “I’ll never understand witches…” Ron shook his head, feeling defeated and not liking it. He grumbled: “Ok, you win. It’s not like I have a lot of choices anyway” Hermione pulled him in a quick hug. And prepared to leave. When they opened the door, there was a throng of Ravenclaws coming out of the Great Hall, and Ron’s face flushed at their suggestive stares. Hermione seemed oblivious, but Ron knew better then that. Stomping away from her, he knew he hadn’t any lessons, not until later in the afternoon. Trying to decide what he could possibly do, he roamed the castle. First he thought about sneaking into the Hospital Wing, but Pomfrey had warned him he couldn’t come and visit until the evening. Besides, what could he tell his friend? Harry may not be the most perceptive bloke around, but he’d know something was bothering Ron, and Ron couldn’t have that, now could he? He briefly entertained the idea to go talk with Looney, but he dismissed that idea. How was he supposed to do that? And how could she of all people help him? She was even barmier then Hermione! In the meantime he’d exited the castle, he could always go to Hagrid… the half-giant wouldn’t mind. But then Ron noticed there was a first-year class going on, and he turned back towards he castle. It felt like it could be raining any minute now, anyway… No sooner the thought had entered his mind, or it came pelting down, wetting his clothes through in a matter of moments. Cursing his luck today, he ran for the entrance. Stomping forward to quickly change before his class that afternoon, he went up the stairs. Not being careful in his stormy mood, he didn’t catch the stair having moved until he was on the third floor corridor. Memories of Fluffy crept up on him, but he couldn’t make the escape the same way he’d come up there… Resigned that there had to have been some kind of ‘get Weasley’ memo today he’d missed, he made his way through other staircases… It was the long way, but he’d get to the Gryffindor Tower eventually. Trudging through a particular damp corridor, he felt a sudden something pull him into a room. Panicking at first, he felt for his wand, but he was already put in a full-body bind. “Oh, poor little Weasley! All wet…” The obnoxious voice tutted, and a quick spell next left him dry. “There, that’s all better, isn’t it!” To his horror Ron recognised the mystery captive as being Pansy Parkinson. The Slyhterin hadn’t been really involved with Voldemort, and neither had there been evidence that her parents had… But that didn’t stop Ron from thinking she was a slimy Death-Eater-wanna-be, even if Voldemort was dead… The malevolent glint in her eyes didn’t predict anything good either, so he started concentrating on breaking the restriction she had on him. In the meantime Pansy had taken the Gryffindor’s wand. Twirling it in front of his eyes, she simpered: “So, I heard about you finally getting together with the ugly bookworm…” She must’ve seen the look of confusion in his eyes, even if he was in a magical bind. But she translated the look wrong: “Oh, don’t look so innocent! We all saw the look you gave her at lunch; you didn’t even finish your plate! And then you both leave the Hall, acting all innocent. And then! ‘La pièce de résistance’…” If Ron could have said ‘Huh?’, he would’ve… But the rubbish coming from the Slytherin distracted him enough, not to be able to concentrate on breaking his restraints. “You come out of a room with the privacy charm on it, all flushed! Do you really think we’re stupid? It was all over Hogwarts in moments! The happy moment for the Granger-brain!” The malicious glint in Pansy’s eyes even intensified: “So it is my sacred duty to make her miserable again…” The ugly smirk on her face made Ron cringe, but he didn’t anticipate her next move. Instead of beating him up, or anything of that sort, she planted her lips on his. Trying to reign in his feelings of repulsion, especially when she forced her tongue in, he concentrated in earnest to break free from the spell. Her lips had left his, and she was sucking on a spot on his neck. He was shocked, though, when he felt her hands on the last place it should be! Being the teenage boy he was, other feelings were trying to cloud his repulsion, and the fear that instilled in him, gave him the force to pull free from the bind. Grabbing her wrists, and throwing her across the room away from him, he started wiping his mouth on his sleeves. Relieved his treacherous body obeyed the repulsion 100% again, he glared at his attacker with distaste. But instead of being afraid, the witch simpered at him further from the ground. “Hmm, so you like it rough, too? Come here and let me show you why a pureblood is superior to a Mudblood!” Before Ron could retch then and there, he fled the scene, hearing the Slytherin cackle behind him… The only thing he allowed himself to think about was: ‘I need a shower, a long one… And I’ll need to use that special brush I got from Hermione’s parents!’ *** PLEASE: review! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Ch 5: What the hell are Snivvles? AN: WARNING; if you’ve read the first part already at the yahoogroup, don’t just skim it now! I’ve put a bit more in Luna’s diary entry, and it’s worth the read, if you want to understand other parts later on… *** September 2nd 1997, Dear diary, Today was an eventful day, I suppose. Everyone was buzzing and gossiping… First it was about Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts, being in Hogwarts. But then Dumbledore said his piece, and everyone was sulking, not getting enough to feed the continuation of their stories. I could see their heads trying to deform the information, in order to keep the conversations up for the rest of the week… And then, it happened. A distraction, if you will… They saw Ronald and Hermione Granger leaving lunch almost together, and the story goes they had a private gathering together. Everyone thinks they have been snogging and are a couple now. I forced myself to hope my Ronald would be happy now, at last. But it didn’t seem Ronald was happy. It seems to me that if the rumours would be true, and that Hermione Granger had agreed to go out with Ronald, then he would be very happy, wouldn’t he? But I saw him stomping about the castle looking like there was a permanent dark little cloud above his head. Of course this wasn’t really the case, I would’ve seen it if the Gloomy-jinx had been cast on him. But the students seem to keep themselves busy with this. They have been talking about it none-stop, and my Housemates have come to me to ask me if I had some ‘inside information’. I wonder why they think that I would have that. A lot of people kept casting pitying glances towards me, and they seem to laugh even more often behind my back… Not that it bothers me, I’m used to it, but I can’t help but wonder why I am suddenly involved in the gossip about Harry Potter’s friends? Is it because I was there the last times he went off on adventure? That would be weird, because I never told anyone I had tagged along. And they never bothered asking me anything before now… Well, no matter. This evening we all went to visit Harry Potter again. I don’t think he seems well. And I’m starting to think that he doesn’t want to get better. I read about something like that in the Quibbler once. The rest of the visitors were Neville, Ginny, Hermione and Ronald. Hermione Granger was frowning at Ronald, telling him off. Apparently he had skived of lessons in the afternoon. I still do not believe the rumours are true, they do act a bit differently around each other, but it is certainly not in a more fluffy way, as should be the case if they were in love and together. Or is that just in fairy tails? I thought Ronald looked a bit pale, himself. Maybe he should’ve stayed with Madam Pomfrey a bit? Ginny didn’t look that pleased either, she kept glaring at Hermione Granger, for some reason…Harry Potter was looking a bit angry after a while, though he hides it well. He isn’t happy… Maybe I could try to find something that would make him happy again? But I don’t know what… I shall think about it some more. Neville just talked about our first day of classes… But I still think Ron was acting very strange. Besides looking pale, his fingers were wrinkled a little, like he’d been in water for a long time. It had been raining, maybe he’d been outside? But he smelled like Hogwarts’ soap. Maybe he had been in the shower for too long? But the strangest thing was the bandage he wore around his neck. I only hope he hasn’t been bitten by a vampire. That would be just dreadful! Anyway, under the circumstances, I didn’t feel like eating dinner in the Great Hall. All that gossip would surely attract Snivvles soon, no doubt. And I don’t want to be near the slimy things, even if Father would’ve loved it if I could manage to photograph them. But I’m not in the mood to get greasy hair for life if they catch me noticing them… Now that I think of it: maybe that’s the reason behind Snape’s hair? I must remember to ask him, next time I have Potions… But I’m going back to sleep now. Tomorrow I have a lot of classes… Until next time, L.A. Lovegood *** Ron couldn’t believe what an awful day he had been having! Waking up being conned by Hermione, seeing Harry depressed, having the looming threat above his head of getting the urge to kiss Malfoy… And then the next most revolting thing happens: almost getting raped by Pansy Parkinson! Ron had never been so grateful though for that brushteeth thing he got from the Grangers the previous year! He had been soaping up his mouth with that thing, brushing teeth, tongue, lips, and anything else that had been in contact Pansy’s saliva… He’d scrubbed until just before his flesh had bled. Then he’d stood in the shower and scrubbed until his skin was red. He’d even washed his hair repeatedly and furiously. For good measure he’d drawn a bath and had soaked in it, until his skin wrinkled… After feeling a bit clean at last, he’d discovered his afternoon class had long passed and that he was almost too late for the meeting with Harry. That’s when the mirror had called his attention to a minor detail: the wench had sucked a mark on his neck! After threatening the mirror to shut up about the impropriety of that bruise, he tried to think through his panic. Ron wasn’t completely stupid, and he knew he couldn’t pull it off as a bruise: everyone was going to know what it was! Bile raised up in his throat and he pulled out bandages that were always present in the boys’ bathroom for minor injuries. He didn’t know how to charm it away, and he knew he didn’t want to ask Hermione, even if it hadn’t been partly her fault, he would be too embarrassed to ask. The visit to the Hospital Wing hadn’t been very comforting. Harry was sulking at his worst, Ginny, for some reason was glaring at Hermione, and Neville was the only one who tried to carry on a decent conversation. Ron barely heard Hermione lecturing him on skiving off this early in the year, and on top of everything he was busy trying to ignore his irritation at the spacey glances he kept getting from Looney. Ever since he knew he was forced to only talk to her about most of his current problems, he felt even more on edge with her then before. That’s when he decided to just go to the kitchens and get something to eat from the Elves, before he could lose his appetite seeing that pug-nosed slimy bitch… Wanting to bury himself in the shame, he closed the curtains around his bed and casting a privacy charm on them, so no one would bother him until the following morning. That didn’t keep him from hearing Seamus and Dean gossiping though, when they returned from dinner. As he’d feared Pansy had lost no time in telling everyone her version of what she’d done with Ron. Bloody hell, these two were almost as bad as Lavender and Parvati! Ron had never been so thankful for Neville telling the two to shut it, because he was about to Avada then when they suggested maybe it had been true that Ron had played bondage games with the… urgh! The thought, alone! *** After yet another sleepless night, being stalked by Pansy-headed giant snakes in his nightmares, wanting to spank him, he was in no mood to deal with bull-shit that morning. Though confused, he had never been so relieved to see that the mark on his neck had miraculously disappeared! But that was the only thing that could have the potential to brighten his mood. The glumness was gone now, and good old faithful anger kept him going. The lewd stares he got from his two roommates, and the worried one from the last one, made him want to breath fire at them and watch them scream and squirm in fiery agony… When he went down to the common room, the look of pity or disgust on more then one of the faces he encountered was almost enough to start sending random courses. But the climax came just outside the Great Hall, in the corridor. Hermione had run to catch him before he reached the doors, and pulled him aside: “Are you alright?” The death-glare he gave her should’ve tuned her in to his feelings… “I’m sorry, but…” Here she was interrupted by the voice of his sister; she sounded very pissed off, glaring at the both of them: “So there you two are. You’re not escaping me now! I don’t know whether I should be angrier at you or you right about now! First you decide you fancy yourself in love with my brother and agree to go out with him, and no one bothers to tell me!” Ginny had been pointing her finger towards Hermione, and now turned her vicious temper to Ron. Both of the older teenagers were too stunned by this tirade to set her straight. But even if they would’ve wanted to, they wouldn’t have been able to put a word in between. “And then you! I hope I know you well enough to trust that what Pansy was telling Hermione yesterday wasn’t true, but why did you leave Hermione to fend for herself, and what was that deal with the bandage, yesterday!” The obnoxious voice that had followed Ron in his nightmares interrupted them: “Yes, Ronnie… Why don’t you explain to your ugly girlfriend and dear sister what you’re hiding under that concealment charm you got there on your neck, hmm?” *** PLEASE: review? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Ch 6: Greasy haired git... An: should’ve made it more clear perhaps. I don’t know what Luna’s real middle name is, so I made one up. The Luna Artemis Lovegood: made up by me… It's just that with her named Luna (moon), I chose the name ofthe Greek goddess of the moon to have the little opening to address to depth of Luna's innocence... (and I don't really see Luna as a Diana, Latin goddess of the moon and hunt...) Now on with the show! *** “Yes, Ronnie… Why don’t you explain to your dear sister and ugly girlfriend what you’re hiding under that concealment charm you got there on your neck, hmm?” *** Ron felt his stomach turn, and he knew he must’ve looked green… In fact he was sure of it, because he felt Hermione’s hand on his arm, asking him what was wrong. But Pansy didn’t seem to care all that much. Ignoring Ron completely she went over to Hermione, with that purely malevolent glint in her eyes. “Your boyfriend sure knows his stuff, Bookworm. You shouldn’t have left him so unsatisfied… But then again, what should we expect from the ugly… eternal… virgin…” Pansy’s voice was mocking. She feigned a pout, which distorted her face even more. Ron stared incredulous at the Slytherin girl. This was just a sick set-up? This all to make Hermione suffer? Was she completely barmy? Who does such twisting things? And why was he being punished because the hag couldn’t stand Hermione? Fed up with everything he ignored the consequences and started yelling at Pansy: “Ok, that’s it! You’re stark-raving mad! First you put me in under a Petrificus Totalis, then slobber all over me, and then, when I shove you away like a pest, you think it’s some kind of sign that I’m playing with you …” To his disgust he saw the girl was just smiling lecherously at him. She wasn’t intimidated in the least, quite the opposite really… She really was of her knocker. “Did you get dropped on your head or something when you were a midget? Because there’s something seriously wrong with you, you know? I almost feel sorry for Ferret-Boy right now…” Speaking of the devil, a voice drawled behind them: “What’s got your panties in a twist, Weasel? Didn’t have a good time cheating on your girlfriend?” Ginny and Hermione growled in perfect sync: “Shut up, Malfoy!” Ron, forgetting everything but the frustration, disgust and anger he was feeling, bellowed: “Your disgusting girlfriend won’t keep her slimy paws of me!” The calm mocking air Malfoy kept around himself was grating on Ron’s nerves… “First of all… Carrottop… that is not, has never been, and will never be my girlfriend,” Pansy glared at the blond wizard, “Secondly shouldn’t you worry about your own girlfriend instead of ruining Slytherin’s image by letting rumours fly about…” Ron seethed, that little albino piece of shit! “Hermione’s NOT…” “Ron’s not my boyfriend!” Hermione interjected, matter-of-factly. Ron’s first reaction was to glare at her, but then great relief washed over him. Not sure if this fell under the contract, it was nice to know Hermione at least tried to prevent him from turning into a looser making googly-eyes at Malfoy… Pansy shrieked: “What!” She seemed totally aghast, and then suddenly she stormed at Ron. Before he could jump out of her way, she’d slapped him: “We’re over, Weasley, and to think I let you get close enough to me to let you touch me! Urgh! Your blood-traitor stench is going to take months to wear off!” Apparently Ginny had had about as enough of Pansy’s lunacy as Ron. The fiery witch pointed her wand at Pansy, threatening her: “You listen here, you unstable bitch! You keep away from us! Or we’re going to Dumbledore and ask him if maybe Snape’ll be willing to spank you!” “Care to enlighten me on this situation, Miss Weasley?” Oh, this was definitely not a good day for any Weasley… The icy tones of Hogwart’s Potions Master were a clear sign the man was in a bad mood already. All of them, in exception of the two Slytherins had jumped almost a foot in the air, whirling around. Pansy looked delighted. If this was for seeing her biased Head of House and knowing she was going to go unpunished, or if it had to do with Ginny’s threat of getting Snape to spank her, Ron didn’t want to know… Hermione tried to explain what had happened, but Snape interrupted her: “Miss Granger, did I ask for your tiresome comments? Mr Malfoy, I’m sure you will provide me with an accurate tale…” ‘Accurate! Codswallop!’ was Ron’s foremost thought… Malfoy, though, had a pleased sneer on his face: “Actually, Professor, I believe it was just Miss Weasley here, suggesting Pansy’d do something about her peculiar sexual fantasies about you…” If the situation had been any less worse, Ron would’ve exploded from laughter. Pansy looked horrified, and he’d never seen Ginny’s face pale so fast before. He couldn’t see Hermione’s expression, though, since she was hiding it under the curtain of wild curly hair. Draco seemed extremely pleased with himself, and Snape just looked much like he looked before he exploded into wild rage in the Shrieking Shack years ago… Before he could yell out any detentions, a little voice behind them broke them from the tense atmosphere of the situation… “Oh, Professor Snape! There you are! I wanted to ask you something?” Ron recognised Luna’s spacey voice. Snape had whirled around on her, but she seemed undeterred. “Have you ever seen a Snivvle? Because I was thinking: your hair’s always so greasy, and I thought maybe you’ve actually been attacked by one?” Luna’s stare shifted from the ceiling to Snape’s face: “Professor, are you alright? You aren’t seeing any Snivvles now, are you?” Ron noted how Snape tensed at the word Snivvles, and realised it sounded a lot like Snivelus, the hated nickname the Marauders had always called him… Luna, however, didn’t seem to understand in what kind of blind rage her professor was in, because she was looking left and right, calling out for Snivvles… Ron saw Snape fisting his wand and his arm move upwards. Before he could harm Luna, though, Snape was hit by four Stunners at once. Pansy shrieked again, and proceeded to faint when she saw her Head of House slump to the ground… Ginny glared at Malfoy: “Why the hell did you say that to Snape!” Draco ignored her, and turned to Luna: “You alright, Lovegood?” There was no malice in his voice though. For some reason the ferret had come to treat Lovegood as a bit of a sister during the summer, when they were forced to live together. Ron still found it hard to understand the strange tolerance Malfoy had for the Ravenclaw… Luna just stared off into space, like she hadn’t just almost been attacked by a Professor: “I just wanted to know if he had managed to take a picture of the Snivvle who attacked him… But I guess it’s still a soft spot for him…” At that moment Hermione burst out in laughter. The rest of them looked at her like she had been hit by the lunacy bug too now… Ron really started to believe it was a bug going around affecting the girls at Hogwarts… “What in Merlin’s name is going on here!” Ron winced when he recognised McGonagall’s voice, but was concerned to see that Hermione was just laughing harder, instead of being properly worried… This situation was not going to end well… *** September 3rd 1997, Dear Diary, Well, today certainly was interesting! I was on my way back from the Owlery (I send out a letter to ask Father for more information on people who didn’t want to heal from their ailments, to find a way to help Harry) when I ran into Professor Snape… Of course, I immediately asked him what had been plaguing my mind ever since I thought of the situation of the Snivvles. And then the strangest thing happened. Professor Snape raised his wand at me! He must have seen a Snivvle behind me, and was ready to defend me, but he looked odd… Maybe it was a real traumatic event when he was attacked by the Snivvles… Well I didn’t get to know for sure what he was going to do, because next thing I knew, he caught four Stunners in the back. It wasn’t until he fell down that I noticed Ronald was there, too. Ginny, Hermione Granger and Draco, like Ronald, had their wands drawn. Maybe they were playing a prank at the Potions Master? Pansy Parkinson was lying on the ground, and then I must’ve said something funny, because suddenly Hermione Granger couldn’t stop laughing! Even when Professor McGonagall found us, she was just laughing hysterically. I hope she doesn’t get her Head Girl Badge taken from her, though Professor McGonagall believes her favourite student was hit by a nasty laughing spell, because when she said the Finite Incantatum she suddenly stopped laughing… But then we were all taken to the Headmaster’s office. Well, except for Professor Snape and Pansy Parkinson, they were taken to Madam Pomfrey. Professor Dumbledore asked us what happened, but I didn’t want Ronald to get into trouble because of me, and I thought they’d played a prank on Professor Snape, so I didn’t say anything and stared at the Phoenix in his office. Ronald and Hermione Granger looked ashamed, and didn’t really seem to want to tell anything. And then Draco told their story, with Ginny occasionally interrupting when he was out of line. It turned out they didn’t play a prank after all. And Ronald isn’t together with Hermione Granger. But Ronald was extremely embarrassed when Draco told what Pansy Parkinson had done… Poor Ronald… But I can’t believe Professor Snape would’ve really raised his wand on me. I still believe he wasn’t going to hurt me. But if I would’ve said that, they would all be in serious trouble, because then they wouldn’t have had any excuse to Stun a teacher like that. But now I have detention with the rest of them. Professor Dumbledore was kind enough to explain to me, that it would be a great opportunity to reflect about why I should think before speaking up. I just smiled at him and didn’t really understand. But it’s not like I really care about the detention. I get to do it with Draco under Professor Snape’s supervision, so I don’t think it will be that bad… I’m more sorry for Ronald and Ginny, they get detention with Hagrid. Though I believe they like that large man… I just hope they won’t have to go to the Forbidden Forrest, because who knows, Ronald may really get bitten by a vampire! I don’t think Hermione Granger minds a lot about her punishment either… She doesn’t get help from the teachers for her extra rounds as there isn’t a Head Boy yet, and she has to help Professor McGonagall with transfiguring the test subjects from all classes back to their original state… Well, I better get ready to head of to the dungeons. Until next time, L.A. Lovegood *** Please: review? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. The aftermath This situation was not going to end well… *** Well, I better get ready to head of to the dungeons. Until next time, L.A. Lovegood *** How can a bloke have faith in a Higher Power That Means Well, when he has to do this stuff! Ron had first been relieved when he’d heard he had detention with Hagrid, though he was a little nervous about getting sent into the Forbidden Forest… He never really got over his fear of spiders, and he really wasn’t in the mood for an encounter with one of Aragog’s offspring. Imagine his relief when they were assigned to look after the garden with the Halloween Pumpkins! They were supposed to get treated against some kind of stupid magical ailment, Ron had forgotten the name of, and rub them with some kind of cream. Relief was quickly replaced by worse feelings… Though the cream looked like whipped cream when Ron had first seen it, it smelled worse then sweat-drenched socks that had soaked in a bowl full of rotten eggs… It was disgusting, and he had only done half a pumpkin before he’d lost his dinner… The fact that they were just at the edge of the Forrest did nothing to sooth Ron’s nerves, and at the slightest rustling of the bushes, he imagined it was the noise of scattering spider legs… Lastly, his annoying younger sister had been pestering him ever since Hagrid had left them alone… She demanded to know what was going on with Hermione and him. But he couldn’t answer that, now could he? And the worse thought was, that normally, as any normal bloke, he wouldn’t even want to talk about it, but just the fact that he couldn’t talk about it, made him want to talk about it! Argh! He was going to end up insane! Or worse: snogging Malfoy! Finally he couldn’t hold it in any more, and snapped at his sister to shut her gob and ask Hermione! Of course this only served to make her more angry and annoyed, but at least she left it alone after shooting a few short explicits his way… *** By the time Hagrid had come back to dismiss them from their detention, Ron had been so furious, he barely felt the relief of finally being able to escape the torment. Actually, there was one thing that had popped into his mind and he couldn’t shake it from his thoughts since… He could talk about it with Looney… The thought struck him as a bolt of lightening in a clear sky. Of course he had known of that possibility, he just hadn’t thought of it in terms of reality… This was a sure sign he was totally going to lose it. Get bloody real! Talking it over with Luna ‘Looney’ Lovegood? He’d rather have Madam Pomfrey force-feeding him Skelogrow… Well maybe not, but still. Why couldn’t he just bash Hermione’s skull with her Hogwarts: A History and get it over with? Oh, that was right: despite the none too tolerable things she’d done lately, she still was his best friend. Ron had vowed a long time ago he wouldn’t be pigheaded enough to ever let anything come between his two best friends and him, just like he would never bail on his family like Percy had done… And besides, Hermione had probably saved his life a lot more times then he had hers: that was just not something Ron Weasley would disregard easily. Hell, because Ferret-Boy was responsible for saving Ginny, Ron even tolerated him over the summer. Well, sort of… But that didn’t mean he wasn’t too happy with that best friend at this moment… Oh, well, that still left Luna to confide in… Ron cringed: there he went again! Someone must’ve slipped him a ‘focus-on-the-Looney’ potion, because there was no way he’d thought of the crazy girl two times already in less then an hour! *** The detention from hell was still fresh on Ron’s mind the following morning. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, and that pesky thought had been playing in his head over and over again. He had tried reasoning with himself: he was a bloke, guys don’t need to talk about their feelings! They put up a brave front and don’t care about emotional stuff. And why would he want to talk to Looney Lovegood, anyway? It wasn’t only the fact that she was a girl and younger than him: she was Looney for Merlin’s sake! But some crazy part of him had let this sudden need to speak with someone grow into a battle against an obsession to get to bear his soul to the silly girl! Of course he blamed the twins: they had tested all their prank stuff one too many a time on their kid brother … At the breakfast table he exasperated himself by stealing candid glances towards the Ravenclaw table. The poor defenceless food got the brunt of his frustration… On a brighter note, Hermione and Ginny seemed to be back being good friends. The smiles towards each other, and the more or less worried glances they threw at him, made him suspect Hermione had told his sister at least part of the story. For a brief moment he held Hermione’s gaze, lifting an eyebrow in question. A special nod-slash-shake confirmed his suspicion that she hadn’t told Ginny the whole truth. Before he could let his mind wander on what Hermione’s version could have been, he was struck by the familiarity of the unspoken communication between them. It suddenly struck him how profound the friendship between Harry, Hermione and him really was. Of course he knew they had been best friends like forever it seemed now, but what they had between them was actually rare. Something told him there was the key to the solution of his recent problem with Hermione. Is it because she wanted to preserve that special friendship between them all? Was that why she had ignored his crush for all that time? And why she went to enormous lengths to keep Harry from knowing what she felt for him? But that was just insane! Arghh! There he went again! All that introspect wasn’t good for him. He’d rather someone pointed at the villain so he could go straight ahead and punch his lights out. This inner soul-searching-thing wasn’t for Ron Weasley. With a solid nod of the head, he started paying due attention to his beloved food, and participated in the Quidditch talk around His House’s table. No sooner had Ron really gotten into the discussion of why the Chudley Cannon’s Keeper really was one of the best players out there, despite appearances, or he was confronted by the school gossip. He had all but forgotten, but the alleged romance between him and Hermione, was what had started the Pansy disaster in the first place, and the wench had taken gossip to a whole new level from there on. Ron suspected the female giggling and the male lewd smirks had been going on for a while now, but he’d just been oblivious to it. That is, until Dean and Seamus came to sit on each side of him. He was still annoyed at them both for their remarks from last night, but he’d learned the hard way, many times before now, that it wasn’t the greatest idea to start a scene in the Great Hall. Vaguely Ron saw Ginny being the centre of a group of giggling girls, talking animatedly. If he would’ve noticed all of them glancing his way every now and then, he would’ve paid closer attention. As it was, he was dealing with other worries right now. Trying to ignore his two classmates he concentrated on his food. But it was hard not overhearing the discussion Dean and Seamus had, which was obviously for his benefit. “Dude, did you hear about what Pansy said about our King?” “Totally, man! That’s so cool the reputation our dude has now. And it’s even better that it comes from a Slytherin bitch, you know. It totally reflects on all of us, Gryffindor dudes!” “Sweet, now it’s like: Gryffindor stands for studs… We are so going to run this school this year!” Ron tried to keep his calm, but the conversation made him recall those totally disgusting memories, he rather just forgot. Before he could explode however, he felt someone lean against him. Startled, he found his two roommates making place for the Patil twins. Behind him was Lavender Brown. Ron gulped when one of the twins, Parvati, since she had the Gryffindor emblem on her robes, put a hand over his. He felt crowded by oestrogen and he desperately looked for a safer place. They had him surrounded however… “Oh, poor Ron. We just wanted to say…” “… if you ever need comfort…” “… or anything else really…” They each spoke, finishing each other’s sentences, creeping Ron out. And making him dizzy in the process of trying to follow who said what. “Yeah, see, we heard about your terrible encounter…” “… with the Slutherin shrew…” “… we just want you to know…” “… not all girls are like her…” Now Padma had put her hand on his knee, and Lavender had brushed his hair out of his eyes. And if he didn’t know better Parvatti was making googly eyes at him. “That’s right Ron, you really shouldn’t judge all the girls by that ‘thing’…” “… you’re way too cute to write of dating for now…” “… yeah, that would be such a waste…” Did they sound a little breathless, just now? “We know you want to wait for that special someone…” “… we really had no idea our Quidditch star was so romantic…” “… you should have said something…” Ron felt like a hunted animal trying to get away from his predators. “But anyway, if you ever feel the need for…” “… comfort…” “… you know where to find us? Right?” The three witches winked at him, and the only thing Ron was capable of doing was nodding his head shakily. When his vision cleared –the three ladies had left his side, leaving only their perfume to linger- he saw his sister holding both thumbs up, grinning maniacally. Before he could get more thought in about that, his roommates slapped him heartily on his back. Even Neville joined in, curious about what had happened. In his befuddled state due to all the congratulations, Ron didn’t notice Neville getting a bit of a wistful expression when Pamda’s name was mentioned during the retelling of the Dean and Seamus’ ‘dude’-version. *** The rest of the day pretty much evolved like another dimension story: younger girls he normally didn’t pay attention to, blushed when they crossed him in the hall. Their sudden fits of clumsiness around them made him notice them, though. He found a cheesy note in one of his books during Transfiguration, and some of the sixth year Hufflepuffs had been winking and giggling around him, asking about the possibility of a future career as a Quidditch star. Ron cursed the day he’d actually wished the kind of fame Harry had. He’d always wanted to be popular, but this was insane! It didn’t make it any more tolerable that Malfoy seemed to find it extremely insulting that the girl population of Hogwarts had started to pine openly for the Weasel… Ron had tried to get his sister to tell him what she’d said to have the whole rumour-mill turn in his favour… But all she’d let him know was: “It’s a girl thing, big bro, you wouldn’t understand. Besides, for some reason most of them already thought of you as ‘deliciously cute’. So I just gave them more reason to be open about it… So, just shut up and enjoy it before you ruin everything!” Obviously, that didn’t tell him anything… He had tried avoiding all of them by going to visit Harry as much as possible. His best friend tired after one chess game, and Ron tried to block out the vague feelings of panic and frustration surrounding the condition of Harry. *** Please forgive the total inane Dean, Seamus talk, but I watched “Dude, where’s my car” last night for the very first time, and I just needed to get it out of my system… So review, review, review, people! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. Ch 8: Not good September 4th 1997, Dear Diary, First of all, I should reassure you detention yesterday went fine. Of course, it had a lot to do with the fact that Snape was still too unwell to supervise it. We had to serve it under Mister Filch, the caretaker of our school. We had to clean the trophy room, all of it, without magic. But first I should explain how come Draco Malfoy has come to stop being the one making fun of me. It happened during this summer, so that means that development hasn’t been written down in any diary. Well, it started innocently enough. I can’t quite remember what happened prior to it to make Draco realise it, but whatever it had been, he’d taken full advantage of it. At first the fact that I was a pureblood, and not really what you could call from a ‘loyal’ family, still didn’t mean Draco really cared for me that much. Oh, I know Draco never wanted to be a Death Eater, but neither did he want to be a blood-traitor, nor a spy. Fate had just forced him to decide, and luckily for us, he chose the good side. But back on track: Draco had found out that for some reason, being extraordinarily nice to the girls in the house, rattled Ron like nothing else. Hermione Granger didn’t really care for the blond being nice to her, I know she saw right through his act, and she didn’t want to play his game. Besides, I think Hermione Granger hasn’t really put all the hurtful things Draco said to her in the past behind her. And to be truthful, despite his honourable acts against Voldemort, he still didn’t really see Hermione as a fully deserving witch. Even now, I can hear the prejudice he has for Muggleborns in his speech, though he’d put Hermione Granger in a slightly higher level then the ‘common’ Muggleborns. But I know this isn’t just something you can just switch off. Really, I think it’s the only thing he can still cling to from his previous beliefs. And the best way to convince him he’s wrong, is not by attacking his pride! Anyway, Ginny played the game sometimes, when she felt like pestering her brother… With me, it was a different story. I didn’t really intend to play any game, really. It’s just that I find it hard to be affronted when someone is nice to me, for a change, even when I can see it isn’t truthful. I guess it just started there really… There were times this summer when we would find each other alone in one of the rooms… Mostly we worked in silence on some homework, or occupied ourselves with some or the other reading material. Very rarely we talked a bit. But when we talked it was meaningful: short, cryptic messages, sometimes. But meaningful all the same. I like to think he feels like I can understand him, somehow, and I also like the way he feels like I’m his ‘protégée’. It is nice to have somewhat like a big brother figure worrying over you without hovering and being ridiculous. Besides, I still annoy Draco, too, with my feelings of devotion for Ronald. I think it’s amusing when he complains about what I can possibly see in ‘the Weasel’. It makes it that much more fun… Speaking of Ronald, I really ought to write down what happened today at Hogwarts, but I’m getting tired, since it’s quite late. I’ll write about it tomorrow, so I can catch enough sleep for now. Until next time, L.A. Lovegood *** Ron did not have a good day… After worrying himself to sleep last night, he was in an awful mood. First of all: Ron Weasley didn’t worry. Secondly, he never lost sleep over anything, and thirdly, all that tossing and turning had made him hungry last night, and he couldn’t risk trying to get to the kitchens without Harry’s Map or Cloak… Furthermore, why should he have to worry about the situation? Ok, Hermione wouldn’t be his, so that did make for a slight dent in his future plans… But plan B was coming around nicely. Whatever Hermione and Ginny had done to manipulate the rumour mill, he was now the hottest guy in Hogwarts, which meant he had the girls swooning over him. This was supposed to be a good thing? Ron’s head hurt by thinking over that question all night. His foul mood during the course of the day did nothing however to stop the silly witches at Hogwarts to see reason again. Though the ridiculousness had worn of a bit. He still caused many girls to blush whenever he passed them, but the blatant sickly gushiness had calmed. Much to Ron’s relief. This meant that by the end of the day, his mood was mellowing. By the time for his daily visit to Harry, he was calm and not ready to throttle the first idiot who looked at him the wrong way. He arrived just in time to see Hermione leave the Hospital Wing. She didn’t see him, though, and Ron had no desire to be spotted when he recognised the sadness in her eyes. However much he calmed down, he had no tolerance left to deal with a sobbing Hermione! Approaching Harry’s bed, Ron’s spirits plummeted to a new level of helplessness. The friend he had come to feel for as a special kind of brother looked pitiful. This was supposed to be the man who defeated the greatest dark wizard ever? This was supposed to be a hero? Ron took the time to really look over his friend. Harry was slumbering, but even in this state he didn’t seem restful. Dark circles around his eyes contrasted sharply against the paleness of his skin. The glasses dangling from his nose looked too big, too rough for the fragility of his face. He hadn’t even dressed today. Still in his pyjamas the blankets were drawn up to his midriff. His pale hands resting on his belly, skin over bone… Ron couldn’t take it, he turned around, his eyes burning. After a quick stop to say hello to the HouseElves, he hid in his dorm room for the rest of the evening. *** September 5th 1997, Dear Diary, I am very worried about Harry. I received many books from my Father with the evening owl, and I went to my room as soon as I was ready with dinner to look for an answer to Harry’s problem. It is becoming urgent, if what I heard from Ginny was correct… Also among the books were those about the’ pureness’ situation, but Father made me promise not to look those through until I’m ready. I do not know what I am to be ready for, but my Father knows best, so I will wait until I will feel absolutely sure I am ready… Ronald wasn’t there this evening, which was a relief and a disappointment. These feelings are strange to coexist, and it made my appetite diminish… At least that made my reading Father’s books start sooner. This whole situation about Ronald being admired by most of the girls here at Hogwarts has been a very unwelcome hindrance, though. I feel very strangely about this. Ronald is special, so it would only be normal for other girls to notice him and have crushes on him… But does this mean I have more rivals than ever before? Before, Hermione Granger was my rival because Ronald wanted her attention. But it seems now that has seized… I should be happy about this, but I can not feel that… Before everything was safely predictable. Now… I do not know anything… Oh diary, this is most unsettling! I was to write to you about the enormous progress I made about Harry’s disease! And here I am prattling on about my incomprehensible thoughts! I suppose I will tell you about it later, when I have studied the whole problem… Until next time, L.A. Lovegood *** A few weeks went on and life at Hogwarts started getting normal, as much as life at the castle was ever normal… For the Gryffindors, the dynamics had changed. The tumultuous start of the year had smoothened and Ron was starting to lose his crazy fanclub… Well most of them really… A few die-hards were clinging on. Apparently, the ‘hotness’ of the young Weasley was based on his boyish energy and impulsiveness… not his gloomy angstiness… But Harry Potter was still missing from the trio, and it was felt harshly in the Tower, reflecting on the school as a whole. Now more then ever it was clear how much the three young students had influenced the rest of them. Hermione and Ron were still there, but even their friendship wasn’t the same without Harry. Ron hadn’t felt like being cheerful or spirited in a long while. The only joy that made him forget his worries was Quidditch. Up in the air, commanding his team, he could set aside the thoughts that tormented him daily. It was so uncharacteristic to see the redhead sulky, but not in a childish way. It was downright scary to see him pensive and tired… Hermione was burying herself under a workload as never seen before, shouldering the Head duties alone, despite having Draco functioning as temporary Head Boy. Ron couldn’t really blame the Ferret for not taking on more duties, he knew all too well how scary Hermione could be when she wanted to work herself to death… And scarier she got. Though she still tried to make time for her friends, though rarely, she had regressed totally into the bookish bossy friendless person she was back in the old days… Ron hadn’t the first clue about how to approach her without having the meeting end with an exhausting raw… Harry still wasn’t doing much better… Though physically he improved, a little… Madam Pomfrey had been forcing him to exercise. Her philosophy went that if he was tired all the time, he might as well get physically tired for real, instead of only having his mental depression weighing on his body… Even Dumbledore was starting to lose the ability to make Ron’s worries disappear with the faint twinkle that sputtered behind those halfmoon glasses. Ginny had perfected the ability to cope by acting like nothing major was wrong. She literally kept the Tower from becoming a place of impending doom. Ron didn’t know where she got the energy to keep smiling, but she was keeping everything together… somehow… But it wouldn’t last. The depressing mood in the air may have been just a few weeks, but something was going to have to give… sooner or later… * Ron was stretching his arms above his head, a small smile lighting up his face. It felt good to slave over Quidditch, and it was nice to have a training with real progress. The smile quickly slid of his face once he saw the repulsive face of the disgraced Slytherin Princess. She was standing there, sneering at him, and the hairs on the back of his neck were raising, expecting trouble… welcoming the straightforwardness of a physical enemy to battle… What would she do? Attack him again like next time? He was ready for her now, adrenalin from the work-out gave him his edge, and his mind was full of strategic moves and insults he could throw back at her… Unfortunately… or maybe it was for the best… nothing happened. Pansy just stuck her nose in the air and walked away, it really was quite ant-climatic… But Ron was left, torn… Part of him wanted to follow her up to the castle, and search for a fight with the tart… But the depressing tiredness fell over him again. His shoulders slumping, he looked around for his Quidditch equipment. Grabbing it, he walked over to the castle… Steeling himself to go visit Harry… *** Review, please?