Lavender felt the breath knocked out of her. She didn't know how to respond to this sudden development. She had liked Ron since the beginning of fifth year, but when him and Hermione had started going out, she had been crushed. Now, here he was. Kissing her in Snape's classroom. She didn't know whether this was right, to be kissing her friend's boyfriend. He is a good kisser, though… her brain contemplated. She let out the painful breath she had been holding and, placing a hand on the back of his head, kissed him back.
Unlike Lavender, whose brain was contemplating, Ron's brain flat out screamed, Hermione! His eyes flew open at this, and also because Lavender's hand was softly running through his hair. What's going on? his brain asked desperately. I'm kissing Lavender. And...I'm enjoying it. A LOT, he answered his brain, knowing he was right. He relaxed and moved his hands from her cheeks to the small of her back, gently massaging it. She sighed, almost inaudibly, and kissed him even deeper. He scooted closer and drew his arms around her waist more tightly. She welcomed it and nestled into his arms, lowering her hands to his broad shoulders.
Suddenly, Ron heard footsteps approaching very fast to the door. He quickly pulled back, completely out of breath, and looked at Lavender. Her eyes unwavering, her breath coming in short gasps, she stared right back. She slowly removed her hands from Ron's sturdy shoulders, not breaking the eye contact.
"Someone's coming," Ron said hoarsely, swallowing. She only nodded and stood up, Ron following. Before she threw on her Invisibility Cloak, however, she reached up and quickly kissed him on the cheek. Then, she was gone. Ron smiled bashfully, then rushed over to the desk and picked up a jar containing Nettletail and raised his wand to it, trying to make it seem like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Snape walked in quickly, surveyed the surroundings and glanced at Ron, muttered, "Glad to see you haven't brought the place down in ruins, Weasley. I'll be back in ten minutes," and left.
Ron acknowledged with only a nod, then went back to the jars, now only one solid thought weighing on his mind: He couldn't hide it anymore. He HAD to talk to Hermione.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Monday morning found Ron, Hermione and Harry in the Great Hall, Ron poring through his homework and filling in his last-minute answers, Hermione reading and rereading her notes and books for the day, and Harry helping Ron while listening to Hermione recite random facts out loud. He had been uncomfortable all week, Ron on one side of him and Ron's girlfriend, whom Harry had made out with, on the other. Ron seemed to be avoiding Hermione all of a sudden, and when she asked Harry about it, he honestly replied that he didn't know. She told him she was going to hex it out of him if she had to, and Harry didn't doubt for one minute that she wouldn't.
As the bell rang, they hurried off to Defense Against The Dark Arts. As soon as Harry entered, he noticed Draco Malfoy glaring at him. Harry frowned back, and Malfoy's head quickly turned back to Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson. Harry rolled his eyes and followed Ron and Hermione to the front of the class and sat down, looking back at Malfoy one more time before Ron averted his attention.
"Welcome to another Monday of what I'm sure is your favorite class!" Professor Lupin emerged with this
statement, startling most of the students before their heads hit the desk. Harry did his best to stifle a yawn as he
pulled out some parchment and a quill. Ron, however, was not as successful.
Harry felt a prickling feeling on the back of his neck, which usually meant that someone was staring at him. He quickly turned around to look at Malfoy, who was leaning his chair back on its hind legs and casually glancing up at the teacher. Harry scowled, mostly to himself, and turned back.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione whispered, not diverting her eyes from the front of the classroom.
"Nothing. I just feel like someone's staring at me. Its fine," he muttered and looked down at his parchment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco Malfoy had always been stealthy. Why, subtlety was his middle name! He had been taught very early on by his infamous father to be careful when on a mission. All missions were important, especially the ones carried out for the Dark Lord. And as Draco would be receiving his Dark Mark on the night of the Spring Solstice, he needed this to go well. So his father wouldn't beat him more than he usually did. Or put the Cruciatus Curse on him.
When Potter had walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts that morning, Draco had followed him with his eyes, making sure he looked like he didn't care. And although Potter had turned around once to frown at him, Draco had simply pasted on his signature smirk, and Potter had been on his way. Yes, Draco Malfoy had a way with things.
"Draco!" a voice whined in his ear. He winced slightly and turned to see none other than Pansy Parkinson, with her sidekick Millicent Bulstrode, waving frenetically to him, a huge grin on her pug - like face. Draco raised his hand, then scowled visibly (this caused Pansy's grin to falter significantly), and looked down at his parchment, keeping an eye on Potter all the while. Lupin emerged in front of the class and started blabbing about other dark curses besides the three they had learned about in the fourth year, and Draco, as usual, tuned him out. He was well versed in this already, and didn't see the need to listen to him to learn it.
Instead, he trained his ears towards the Golden Trio (as he had taken to calling them), and, since they were sitting in front of him, it was a little easier than he expected. What with Weasley whispering so loudly, Draco was able to catch little snippets of their conversation before Granger or Potter warned him to turn it down.
"Aberforth... Wormtail... gotten in HERE... Voldemort... new plan," he heard. He frowned and quickly scribbled this down on the parchment in front of him, his mind working quickly to make sense of this. Who in the hell is Aberforth? he wondered, chewing on the end of his quill. As a result, he got a few feathers in his mouth, which nearly made him gag. He ducked under the table and, with a revolted face, removed them quickly before resurfacing.
"Ah! Mr. Malfoy!" Lupin's voice called. His head snapped up.
"Yes, Professor?" Draco asked in a kind voice that was feigned.
"Can YOU tell us what the Detorqueo Curse does?" Lupin asked in a firm but gentle voice.
"The Detorqueo Curse twists the person's body and mind at the same time beyond repair," Draco answered smoothly. Lupin looked a bit surprised, but nodded, said, "Five points for Slytherin", and moved on to explain HOW the curse did what it did. Draco smirked to himself. He wasn't a Malfoy for nothing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Severus, I was wondering if I could have a word with you." Snape looked up from the essays he was grading and looked into the unnaturally blue eyes of Dumbledore. But something was different. Snape blinked, and realized that it was not Albus, but his almost identical brother Aberforth. Snape placed the quill down and stood up.
"Whatever about, Aberforth?" he asked, coming around to the front so he stood in front of the old man.
"Harry Potter." Snape stiffened. What was going on? Had something happened to Potter?
"What about him?" he asked in a completely neutral voice.
"Well, if I understand what the boy told me correctly, you gave him a detention Thursday night because he threw a rat out the window onto your head. Is this true?" Aberforth asked.
"Correct," Snape replied curtly. He leaned casually against his desk, crossing his arms.
"But it was accidental?" Aberforth prompted.
"One could say that," Snape shrugged.
"Very well. Where is the rat now, Severus?" Aberforth asked.
"Well, Aberforth, as I am not a fan of rats, I obviously threw it out," Snape replied with an edge to his voice, wondering where this was going.
"I see. Did Harry tell you that the rat was Peter Pettigrew?" Aberforth questioned. Snape stood up straight.
"Yes, he did. But, evidently, the filthy thing was not Wormtail. There was no silver paw. Potter used that as an excuse to get out of detention," Snape pointed out.
"That's where you're wrong, Severus," Aberforth replied calmly. "For the rat really WAS Wormtail. It seems he had shown up at Hogwarts during Christmas Holidays as well as that day. Harry was right. He found Peter in his trunk, and threw him out the window hoping he'd get hurt in the fall."
Snape couldn't form any words. He definitely had NOT seen this coming. He had remembered the rat from the Christmas dinner, but he had dismissed it.
"Don't worry. He'll be back. Pests don't go away easily," Aberforth assured darkly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next Hogsmeade weekend was coming up, and all of the Hogwarts students (Third Years and up) were planning out their day.
"All right. I've drawn up schedules for the O.W.L's. Harry..." she held out a sheet of parchment with a grid on it and the words inside each box in different colors. Harry reluctantly reached out and took it. He looked at it, and the words began to swim on the page in front of his eyes. He could not focus on it at all.
"Hermione! COME ON! You CAN'T be serious! I mean, we're going to Hogsmeade in two days! We can't STUDY Friday night when we're going out Saturday!" Ron exclaimed as he reached out and took his schedule.
"Ron, just because you get to go on a field trip does NOT mean that you can't still be prepared for the O.W.L's," Hermione said, not looking up from shuffling papers.
"I can't believe it," he muttered and stuffed the sheet randomly into one of his textbooks.
"Pull it out, Ron," Hermione said, still busy with the papers. Ron stared in disbelief at Harry, who shrugged.
"How did you know..." Ron started.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Ron Weasley does with a study sheet," Hermione cut him off, now scribbling on a fresh sheet of parchment fast.
"I've said it once, but I'll say it again: You can be really scary sometimes, you know that?" Ron replied, slowly pulling the sheet from his Charms textbook.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturday rolled around bright and sunny, but with a hint of winter still in the air. Neville, who kept yelling, "I have a date! I have a date!" woke Harry up at nine in the morning, for which he was not happy about.
"For god sake, Neville!" he exclaimed loudly. Neville stopped in mid-jump around the dorms and stared at Harry with a perplexed look on his face.
"We. Get. It," Harry said slowly. "You have a date. With Padma. The same girl who kissed you at the Ball. Now, let it go. Why isn't anyone else bothered by this?" He stood up and walked around to the other beds to find it empty.
"Ron went to meet a friend. Dean and Seamus went down to breakfast," Neville answered a little shakily. Harry sighed and turned around to face Neville, who was standing still now.
"I'm sorry, Neville. I didn't mean to burst out at you like that," Harry apologized, heading to the bathroom.
"It's all right, Harry. I understand. Seamus was imitating me with what I had said about the Ball over and over again, and I got so pissed off," Neville replied, smiling. Harry grinned back.
"So, you think you're going to get kissed today, too?" Harry asked, opening the door to the bathroom, then closing it. Instead, he headed to the door to go to the Prefect's' bathroom.
Neville blushed. "I hope so," me muttered, looking at his feet. Harry laughed and headed to the
Prefects' Bathroom, where he brushed his teeth and stepped into what turned out to be a nice, relaxing shower. He
heard the door open, but didn't bother to see who it was.
"It'll take more than half an hour to wash off the filth YOU have, Potter." This biting remark made Harry open the shower door a crack to peek out. Draco Malfoy was working the ties to his green and white Slytherin dressing gown with a sneer in Harry's direction.
"Malfoy? Prefect? That figures. Daddy probably helped with that, too," Harry replied nastily and shut the door again, immersing himself in the shower. He heard Malfoy growl in a low voice, and smiled to himself, satisfied.
"Unlike you or your friends, I have a pureblood Daddy with money who can help me. That's more than I can say for Weasel, you, OR Granger," Malfoy shot back.
Harry calmly stepped out of the shower to see Malfoy in the giant tub with about fifty different types of bubbles in it, leaning against the corner and smirking. He fastened his Gryffindor dressing gown and dried his wet hair with the towel in his hand.
"For your information, Malfoy, my father was a pureblood. Second, I have money. More than you know. And, being a pureblood doesn't make you special. Hermione's Muggle father is nicer than you or your father will ever be. Ron's father is pureblood, and they may not have much money, but they are great people. Which is more than I can say for you. So, in total, I say that us three combined are better off than one of you." With that, he strode to the door with a smirk, leaving behind a steaming Malfoy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Herbology went by faster than Harry would have liked. The slower Herbology went, the longer they had until Potions, and the sooner they had to face Snape or the Slytherins. Unfortunately, their study on the vicious- looking Bimembris plants sped by, and even though the nasty plants with the jagged, purplish teeth snapped its jaws at Harry every time he tried to feed it the calming potion, Harry missed it as he trudged with Ron and Hermione to Potions.
Ron's mind was churning up memories of the LAST time he had been in that classroom and he couldn't decide whether they were pleasant or unpleasant.
"Are you OK, mate?" Harry inquired concernedly. Ron looked up from the cover of his Potions text at Harry, who was looking at him intently.
"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine," he replied absentmindedly and returned to staring at the book.
"You know, for someone who hates Potions with a passion, you sure like staring at the book a lot," Harry
half-joked. When Ron didn't reply, only smiled, Harry turned back to Hermione, who had a quizzical look on her
face.
They rushed into the dingy room right before the bell alerted everyone that classes had once again begun. Ron and Hermione quickly plopped into an empty seat in the back of the class and Harry sat next to Seamus.
"Snape's having a bad day," Seamus said out of the corner of his mouth.
"When does he not?" Harry whispered back, his eyes trained to the front of the room. He saw Seamus smile but reply, "More than usual. You should've seen poor Neville during Herbology. When I told him, he was shaking so much, the plant almost bit off one of his fingers."
"Figures," Harry siad, laughing inwardly. Suddenly, the door banged open behind him, but none of the students dared turn around, for the Potions master crossed the room in lengthy steps and stood in front of the class with his hands clasped and a deep scowl that made every line on his face accentuated. His dark eyes darted from student to student, corner to corner before they finally came to rest on Harry. Unwavering, Harry stared right back before Snape looked away and started speaking in a monotone voice.
"Today we will be discussing the Resilius Potion. This potion makes the taker shrink to an infinitesimal size for up to twenty-four hours before it wears off. We will prepare the potion in class, and your homework will be a two-foot long essay on what the good and bad effects of this on a person could be, which will be due tomorrow. You will find the ingredients and instructions on page 166 of your book. Get to work."
With that, he simply sat at his desk and began scribbling away. The students were silent.
"What are you waiting for?" Snape looked up from his papers and barked. This got them dashing from corner to corner, searching for the ingredients, then dashing back to their desks to complete the potion. Snape returned to his scribbling promptly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I am so exhausted, I could actually sleep soundly without dinner!" Ron exclaimed, slumping down on one of the plush chairs back in the Gryffindor common room.
"You mean, NOT EAT? That would be a record!" Hermione exclaimed, setting her books down carefully on the table and sitting primly in a similar adjacent chair.
"Ha ha ha," Ron replied dryly, shutting his eyes. Harry and Hermione exchanged amused looks. Then, she signaled to him that she had to talk to Ron. Harry nodded and said loudly, "Well, I think Dean needs me upstairs to show me something." Ron opened his eyes when Dean came up behind Harry and said, "No I don't! What are you talking about, Harry?"
Harry squeezed his eyes shut. That was a surprise. A surprise that ruined his so-called 'plan'. He turned to Dean after surveying the frown on Ron's face to glare at him. Dean apparently got the message, because he sheepishly grinned.
"Er, actually, I really do need to speak to Harry! To, um, explain a new rule about soccer that was just passed the other day! My mum told me about it. She told me she read it in a Muggle newspaper. So, Harry, since you know so much about this new rule, could you please explain it to me? Because I honestly don't understand it," Dean awkwardly covered. The frown did not move from Ron's face, but deepened.
"New rule? But Dean, didn't you say..." Ron started.
"Yeah, I did, Ron, but they did pass another one. I guess I'm not always right about soccer," Dean laughed nervously. "Please, Harry?"
"Sure," Harry nodded and, giving Ron a smile and Hermione a thumbs-up as he passed her by, left with Dean.
"They're insane," Ron commented, relaxing in his chair once more.
"Ron, can we talk?" Hermione started tentatively. His eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright.
"What about, 'Mione?" he asked nervously, turning in the chair so he faced her.
"Well, we've been really distant toward each other," she began. "And... well, what's going on with you? You seem so preoccupied lately, and it's just weird."
Ron had been dreading this. He knew he had to talk to her. He just didn't want to. But he absolutely had to. He didn't want to hurt Hermione, but things weren't always dandy.
"Do you want the truth?" he asked with a deep breath. She nodded and he saw a brief second of anxiety passing in her eyes before they became passive again.
"I thought you would," he muttered. "Um, well, you know how Snape gave me detention?" he asked. She nodded again.
"Well, that night, I was just cleaning the jars - which is what he had asked me to do - and Lavender came for a visit," he said in a rush. Hermione stirred.
"She has an Invisibility Cloak. That's why I didn't know she was there at first. And we started talking, and..." he hesitated.
"And what?" she asked, leaning forward.
"And then she kissed me," he blurted out in one breath. Hermione sat up stick straight, her face blank.
"She kissed you?" she repeated, a hint of anger in her voice. Ron shifted uncomfortably.
"Yeah," he answered, squirming.
"Oh," was all she said, staring at the wall beyond Ron. She seemed to be thinking very deeply.
"'Mione?" Ron tried carefully after a few minutes of silence. She blinked and looked right at him.
"Ron, I have something to confess as well," she said quietly.
"What?" he asked, frowning.
"I... Harry and I kissed," she answered, her voice still quiet, looking at her hands the whole time.
"You kissed HARRY? HARRY POTTER?" Ron had to make sure he had heard correctly.
"It was an accident!" she said hotly, looking up. "Don't start accusing me, Ron Weasley! YOU also kissed someone behind my back! TWICE!"
"Twice? What are you talking about?" he asked, standing up.
"Oh get off it, Ron! You very well know what I'm talking about!" she snapped, following suit and standing up. "During winter holidays, when you used the fireplace to talk to us, and told Harry you kissed Lavender!"
"You-you knew about that?" he stammered, taken aback.
"Yeah, I knew. Being smart really helps. Especially when you told him. I was right behind him!" she retorted, crossing her arms across her chest.
"If I remember correctly, I said 'Lavender kissed me!' I didn't say ANYTHING about kissing her back!" he exclaimed.
"Well, you sure as hell didn't say anything about protesting!" she retaliated. "Remember that day when she came crying? I asked you to get a handkerchief, and you didn't even react. You were staring at her with a..." she paused, groping around for the right word, "SMITTEN look on your face. Like nothing else in the world mattered to you. I know the look well, and I've never seen you look at me like that." This was a bit quieter. "She was looking at you the same way." She sighed.
"You like Lavender. Its as plain as day. Why didn't you SAY anything about it?" she asked, not angry but sad.
"Because, Hermione! Come on! You're my girlfriend! There's nothing I could do to hurt you!" he responded, sitting back down.
"Trust me, Ron. You two kissing hurt me a lot more than you mentioning it would have," she answered softly.
"I'm sorry," he muttered after a few seconds of quiet.
"Don't apologize. You're in love," she simply replied. His head snapped up at this last statement.
"What did you say?" he asked, turning to look at her.
"I said you're in love. With Lavender. It's obvious. I just wish you had said something," she said. He sighed and looked down at the embroidered carpet.
"Ron," she said after what seemed like a very long and awkward pause.
"What?" he asked.
"You and Lavender are meant to be together. I can't get in the middle of that. Be with her. I want you to be happy." Then, she stood up and walked out of the room.