Chapter 5
The trio sat together talking softly with each other of the New Year to come. Hermione was so excited, she wasn't prefect anymore and neither was Ron so that meant they could spend more time together. She was scared that after the year got out they would all separate. Then Harry said the most unexpected thing ever.
"I want all three of us to move in together when we graduate," he said looking at both of them with a small smile. Hermione just stared at him, not really knowing what to say. Of course she wanted too, even though it would be really awkward living with two boys. She was an only child so she was very much used to her privacy. Not only that, but both boys were tugging at her heart. She loved Ron to death but lately he seemed to be getting even more immature. Harry was a different story all together. The whole time they had been staying at the Burrow seemed so special, like the world was revolving around them. There were times she even thought that maybe he was flirting with her. He was always there, touching her shoulder or her arm very lightly. By the time they boarded the train, she understood exactly why Ginny was so angry with her. She just prayed that Ron didn't notice.
"Of course Harry…I mean, we have to stay near each other," Ron laughed shoving a chocolate frog in his mouth. Hermione snickered watching the boys shove their faces like little kids. Normally she would have scolded them for that but at the moment, she really didn't care. It was almost cute.
"What do you think Hermione?" Harry asked glancing over at her, laughing as Ron dove to the floor for the scattered Bertie Bott's Beans. She shook her head and thought about it for a brief moment.
"I think it's a great idea…but I get my own bathroom," she grinned. The boys looked at her and then at each other before cracking up laughing.
"You two are impossible."
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Ginny slammed the door shut behind her and took in a deep breath. Her friends were being so dumb. Telling her that she could have any boy that she wanted if only she would forget about Harry. Did they not realize how hard that was? Harry was the first…ok not the first but she really liked him. She rather liked dating a more popular boy for a change even if that wasn't the whole reason why she "liked" him.
"Hey Ginny, have a nice summer?" Dean Thomas asked walking up to her. She forced a smile on her face and nodded. Could this day get any worse? He opened his mouth to say something else but Ginny turned on her heel, walking briskly down the hall. She came up to an empty compartment and slipped inside, kicking the door hard once it was closed.
"Do you mind?" A cold voice rang out. She spun around and groaned. Draco Malfoy was sitting on the bench with his head back and eyes closed.
"Yeah actually I do. Could you leave so I can be alone?" she snapped. He opened an eye to look at her and laughed, sending chills down her spine.
"Nah, I was here first, find your own compartment," he said softly. She waited for the oncoming wave of insults to fly out of his mouth. But nothing came; he just sat there with his eyes closed again.
"Are…you feeling alright?" She asked, keeping her back pressed firmly against the door.
"I'm fine Red," he answered. She rubbed her forehead trying to register the sudden niceness of Draco. This was extremely weird. He wasn't being cold towards her like he usually was. The only thing he was doing was calling her by that annoying nickname Red. She stared at him hard; trying to see the spell that was obviously working it's way through him.
"If you want to sit down, go right ahead. I don't bite," he muttered. Ginny opened her mouth and nothing came out. What was going on? She wanted to sit next to him and ask him over and over again what was bothering him.
"Um…no thanks…I think I'm going to find my friends…" She said quickly. She opened the door and nearly fell on her face trying to get out of there as quickly as she could. She watched him through the window a bit before running back to her own compartment.
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Ron felt something slapping his arm, harder and harder until he finally sat up shouting. His two best friends fell back on the bench laughing hard. He ran his fingers through his hair to make sure they didn't do anything cruel to him.
"Wow…you are really hard to wake up," Hermione said breathlessly putting her hand on her chest. Ron felt his face burn and looked away.
"I told you! You can punch him and he won't wake up," Harry snickered and got up, throwing Ron's bag to him. He caught it and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He must have fallen asleep for the remaining ride. They were talking about moving in together once they had graduated and the next thing he knew, he was getting smacked.
"Ha, Ha, you two are so great," Ron rolled his eyes and got up yawning. He looked out the window and smiled when he saw the huge lake. They were home, well his second home anyway. He followed his two friends out into the hall and waited for the huge mass of people to move forward.
"Draco! Where have you been?!" He heard Pansy shriek. He craned his head back to see Pansy nearly clobbering Malfoy. To his amazement, Draco gently pushed her away and walked past his buddies. Usually he would push her away and wait for his little gang to follow him out, ready to start bullying around the younger students. He glanced over at Harry; he was watching Draco as well. Something was strange about the way he was looking at him. There wasn't as much hate, as there was curiosity. When Harry had come back from getting the candy he was acting really weird but he didn't want to talk about it. He'd have to drill it out of him once Hermione wasn't around to ask thousands of questions.
The crowd finally moved and he was able to slip out of the train. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh air once his feet hit the ground. Hagrid of course was ushering the first years towards him.
"Ello Ron!" He bellowed waving his huge hand. Ron waved back and waited for the other two to escape the train.
"My god there are too many people," Hermione gasped nearly falling out of the doorway. Ron caught her and helped her to her feet as they laughed. Harry came flying out next, his glasses all crooked on his nose.
"Yep, the more to torture," a nearby boy laughed. Ron looked over and saw of group of Slytherin's were already starting to pick on the smaller of the 1st years. Ron was about to run over and kick them into the lake when Malfoy beat him to it.
"Knock it off will ya?" He snapped pushing one of them away from a little girl cowering against the train. Hagrid stomped over and quickly scooped her up, causing her to scream. Ron covered his mouth to keep from laughing. The poor girl had no idea what was going on.
"She was only a first year Draco! Come on, it was funny!" the boy laughed playfully pushing one of his friends. Draco glared down at him and shook his head.
"Yeah, hopefully she'll be able to kick your ass later," Draco muttered side glancing at Hermione before stomping away. Ron frowned and watched him leave. Everyone was watching.
"There is something definitely off about him," Harry said shaking his head.
"His mum and daddy probably didn't get him what he wanted this summer," Hermione laughed, "Come on, let's get in the coaches." Ron tried looking for his sister but figured she was all right. He caught up with Hermione and Harry and climbed up into the coach.
"Our last year…" he heard Hermione whisper softly. He glanced over at her and had to smile. He had to agree with Harry, she changed so much in that short span that they had been apart. It was their final year; he was going to gain some courage to ask her out…even if it killed him.
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