A/N: Okay, I KNOW it's been nearly two weeks since I've updated, but unfortunately 'real life' got in the way. Too much for my liking, as it were. So, I should be back on schedule now- about a chapter a day or so. The good news is I've got the whole rest of the plot worked out, just needs to be fine tuned and such. I would like to thank ALL my reviewers (with the exception of one, and I bet you can guess who it is) for their wonderfully positive feedback and great interest in the story. It's so fun to see what readers think is going to happen, trying to work out the plot. I LOVE IT- THANKS!!! I just want you to know that I truly appreciate your words of kindness, and you've inspired me to continue writing and get this thing done lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's been coming for a while…
**There is some ADULT language in this chapter, you have been forewarned**
Crimson flames lapped at her delicate face, lustful embers dancing in her eyes. Lost in a dream, the ginger goddess zoned in on her target, a slit of coffee brown glinting beneath darkened lashes. She prowled across the soundless room with the slink of a cat, hips swaying in a trancelike rhythm as pure desire radiated from every inch of her porcelain complexion.
Full lips parting ever so slightly, she ran the tip of her tongue across the shining surface, a hint of raspberry melting in her mouth. Drawing nearer to her destination, the redhead swaggered past an empty table, fingers brushing the polished surface as they traipsed across the sculpted pine. Her face twisted into a domineering smirk as she made her way through the library, suddenly crumpling to an expression of disgust as she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.
Hermione.
Two sets of eyes were glued to Ginny's officious features, one pair filled with malice and the other simply terrified. She sauntered to their lonely table, plaid skirt rippling just above her thigh, riding the line between tackiness and vulgarity. Dainty palms smacked against the glossy wood, Ginny's frame leaning heavily upon it. She pressed her arms against her breasts, cleavage spilling out into the open from beneath a woolen sweater vest, hugging every curve of her developed torso. Ron's face was mere inches from any other man's delight, bottom lip trembling as his eyes frantically searched elsewhere.
"Look at the happy couple," Ginny said with a sneer, flopping her head towards the seething witch on her left, "Harry and I just finished in the stairwell- it's free for the taking," she finished sweetly, a lock of shining strawberry falling gracefully into her eyes.
"I highly doubt that," Hermione quipped, voice sharp as a tack with a look to match.
"I think I would know, we were just down there and-"
"No, I doubt Harry was with you in the stairwell," Hermione said coolly, turning her attention back to the roll of parchment unfurling in her fingertips.
Ginny arched a brow at this and shot Hermione a look of mock amusement, "Are you saying we don't participate in yours and Ron's type of physical activity? Because I'm afraid you'd be mistak-"
"I didn't say you weren't still in the stairwell."
A surge of heat rushed to Ginny's cheeks as anger coursed through her veins, a flash of lightning flickering behind a ring of muddled auburn, "Listen here, Granger," she hissed, staring daggers into equally murderous eyes, "you need to keep that nose of yours out of my business and back in a book where it belongs," Ginny spat, flitting her gaze towards Advanced Potion Making as more pressure was exerted on her chest.
"Ginny, even if you were snogging Harry in an abandoned stairwell, which I know for a fact was not the case, images of me would have been dancing through his head the entire time…"
"Filthy slut," Ginny drawled, narrowing her eyes as her fingers coiled around the table's blunted edges, "You're delusional. You don't know anything about what Harry and I have. And as far as I'm concerned it's going to stay that way," she added with look of iniquity. "You're nothing but a lonely and pathetic old maid, forced to live in the body of a seventeen year old with the figure of a grasshopper-"
Hermione's wand was out so fast you couldn't say Quidditch, half a flick away from causing the youngest Weasley a considerably lengthy hospital visit. Brown eyes gleaming, she rotated an elegant wrist three quarters to the left before an ink-smudged hand slapped it away from her objective- soon followed by a loud explosion from the bookcase close behind.
Ginny's eyes were round as saucers as a fan of scarlet whipped toward the sudden travesty, the whole of the library following suit- with the exception of Madame Pince, of course. An entire bookcase had been destroyed, bits of ashen pages fluttering toward the ground as planks of mahogany crumbled from the ceiling. Hermione simply sat upright in her chair, a solemn oak amidst the paper rain, not daring to take her eyes off a flabbergasted Ginny- having narrowly escaped serious injury.
Ron looked as if she'd grown two heads, mouth as wide as a bass with eyes just as wide, blackened smears covering the bottom portion of his bewildered face. The remaining occupants shook their heads and returned to their previous states of being, burying themselves in books and paperwork while continually stealing glances to their table.
"You missed," Ginny said flatly, crossing her arms as her brows flicked toward the ceiling, shimmering lips pulling into a smirk, "You just can't seem to accomplish anything you want, can you, Granger? 'Sreal pity," she added, tugging at the hem of her vest in a triumphant manner so as to expose more of her upper body.
Hermione's respiration was very uneven, heavy breaths escaping her lungs like the smoke of a steam engine. Pure hatred welled up inside her, creeping its way from her heart to her vision, a ring of fire circling her eyes with a passion to kill. It took every fiber in her body to keep from strangling Ginny Weasley, Ron's quivering hand not anywhere near the strength required to hold her down.
"Anyway, seems I'm late for a study session- I'll leave you here to work out your anger issues, along with your aim," Ginny taunted, flipping a plait of red velvet behind her back. "So, back off Harry," she threatened with a wince as her eyes fell on her brother, "And what the hell have you been up to? What, did you eat out the giant squid?" she asked with the scrunch of her nose, giving a quizzical look before making her leave, heads suddenly twitching from the front of the library back to their books.
An eerie silence settled around the table, Ron confused and frightened at the events that just occurred and those that were about to happen. Hermione exhaled deeply, her eyes fixated on the knot in the wood as she continuously clenched her fists under the table. Her counterpart watched nervously, no longer having to worry about soaking his pants, considering he wasn't wearing any.
"Well, that went better than expected," Hermione finally stated, not tearing her gaze from the knot.
"What do you mean went better than expected?! You nearly knocked off my sister and blew up a bloody bookshelf! You're mad as a box of ruddy frogs, Hermione!" Ron said incredulously, blue eyes bulging at her cosmic understatement.
"I can't stay in here any longer, I'll lose my mind-"
"I think you already have…"
Hermione fired a death glare Ron's direction, the wizard cowering instantly as her eyes landed on his shivering form. Heart racing, she bolted up from her chair and swiveled toward the exit, glimpsing a mop of red hair do the same before a mane of curls obstructed her view.
"Don't follow me, Ron- just stay in here, please?"
"Why? The only reason I ever even come in here is cos you drag me- typically by the ear…Why do I have to stay put in the most boring waste of space in the castle? You just destroyed the magazine section, now I've got nothing to read."
"Just do it, alright?" Hermione snapped, losing her patience and on the verge of bursting into flames.
"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Ron whined, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck as he longingly eyed the massacred shelves of forgotten Quidditch leaflets.
"Merlin, I don't know- do damage control, watch Ginny- I don't care. I just need to get out of here."
"Are you alright, 'mione?" Ron asked abruptly, voice laden with concern as he watched the hyperventilating witch before him, "I'm sorry about my sister…"
"Ya, Ron- thanks," she finished quickly, a ghost of a smile fading from her face as she grabbed her books, jamming them haphazardly in her tawny satchel.
"I prolly won't wake up ol' bitchy britches, and I dunno if I can fix the bookshelves… but I guess I can make sure what happened in the library 'stays in the library' if you catch my drift…and I didn't see where Ginny went-"
"Ron, you're a prince- not really, but I figure I've got to give you some credit somewhere," Hermione mused, hastily grabbing her quills.
"Hey, maybe I'm the Half-Blood Prince!" Ron said excitedly, eyes twinkling with possibilities.
"Yeah, Roonil, you let me know how that turns out," she intoned, lids drooped with intolerance.
"I don't see why I couldn't be! You just said I had all the makings of a prince-"
"Is that how you heard it? Good lord, Ron, it's no wonder you can't get anything straight. One- I never said that, and two- aren't you a pureblood, anyway?" Hermione asked in irritation, swiftly twisting the lid onto her bottle of ink as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
Ron's face fell into a discomfited frown as pink blotches spread across his cheeks, embarrassing realization dancing across his freckled features. Hermione heard him grumble something about 'maybe Roonil Wazlib isn't' but she couldn't quite make it out. Flinging a quick wave of appreciation, the frazzled witch darted out of the library, Ron continuing to mumble in her wake.
Hermione promptly fled the scene and wrenched open the heavy doors, bursting forth from the library with the force of a cannon. Running away from Ginny's words of pain and anguish, she barreled down the corridor at lightning speed, rounding every turn to fight the tears stuck in her throat. Pounding the earth like thunder, her feet treaded down the gloomy hallway, picking up speed with each passing step. She turned the corner with surprising momentum, briefly glancing back behind her, and ran smack dab into someone coming from the opposite direction. Both parties were sprawled on the ground, put in a sudden daze from their dynamic greeting.
"Hermione!"
A/N: Yes, yes, a TERRIBLE place to end it- I am aware. But you'll come back when I update, right? : ) I know there could have been more of a showdown, but that was just a taste… I couldn't have Hermione kill her now… Be that as it may, hope you enjoyed. I'll be updating much sooner than last time (bows head in shame) and I didn't forget about the ink on Ron's face. Ya- it's still there : D Believe it or not, it doesn't really have any significance to the story, I just had a lot of jokes to go with that and thought I could use it to break up some tension. Don't worry, ALL questions will be answered shortly- R&R much appreciated <3