Chapter 10
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on chapter 9, everyone who took the time to do so; it's much appreciated to know you're enjoying this!
"Hurry up Lavender!" Susan cried. She looked around to make sure Ron wasn't coming out of the pub.
"No kidding." Hermione laughed, taking another swig of her beer from the bottle. "Ron get your big dumb ass out here!" she shrieked.
"Shut up, both of you!" Lavender snapped. Susan had come up with the bright idea of stealing Ron's broom as revenge for his little shenanigan he pulled earlier. However, Ron put a locking spell on his broom that none of them could seem to undo, so it was up to Lavender to try different spells.
"Where's Harry this weekend?" Susan asked Hermione as she swigged from her own bottle.
"He's in Paris, with his family." Hermione answered, her eyes taking on that dreamy look she always had when thinking of Harry. "They should be back tomorrow night."
"How come you didn't go with?" Susan teased. "I mean, he's already taken you to Venice right? Why not Paris, and Sydney, and Chicago, and New Orleans…" she snickered.
"Because his whole family went, and I hardly think it's appropriate for me to go along when I haven't even met them yet." Hermione replied.
Lavender and Susan stared at her. "I don't think I've ever heard the word appropriate come out of your mouth before." Lavender said, almost in shock.
Hermione sneered at the two of them, then widened her eyes and pointed behind them at the door to the pub. "Ron!" she cried out.
Susan and Lavender both whirled around, their eyes wide with the fear of being caught, but no one was there, and Hermione was doubled over with laughter.
"That was the best deer in the headlights look I've ever seen!" Hermione shrieked, nearly falling over.
Lavender glared at her and resumed her spells while Susan went over and tried to take her bottle away.
"Hey!" Hermione squealed and the two girls laughed while playing tug of war with the bottle.
"Found it!" Lavender called out triumphantly a few moments later. The three of them clambered on and Lavender pulled them up and away from the pub.
"Get a horse you asshole!" Susan screamed as they flew into the trees. After a minute, they were extremely high above the trees and had nowhere to go.
"Where do we head to?" Lavender asked, pulling her jumper a little tighter around herself.
Hermione and Susan thought hard for a moment. "The country club!" Hermione said excitedly.
"Yes!" Susan agreed.
"No, that's boring!" Lavender said. She hated going to the club, all they did was sit on the lawn while Susan and Hermione drank and goofed off.
"Come on, live a little!" Hermione's voice rang out. Lavender sighed, then steered the broom down to the large white building. She landed them softly on the lawn and Susan and Hermione tumbled off, laughing their heads off.
Music poured faintly from inside the club, a jazzy upbeat tune. Susan looked at Hermione.
"Herm? You want to do the jitterbug?" Susan asked, referring to an old dance move that was popular some years ago. Hermione laughed.
"Do I? I get to lead! Here Lav hold these for us." she handed Lavender the two bottles of beer and scrambled off the bench. She and Susan began hopping around the grass in a crazy dance.
Lavender laughed at them and began to walk across the sloping lawn towards the clubhouse. She dumped the two bottles on an empty table next to a trophy of some sort and gazed into the large bay window. People were dancing on a floor, she admired the glittering dresses that many of the women were wearing, and the men were dressed formally in dress robes, a few in Muggle tuxedoes. She began to envision herself and Henry dancing around in a club like that when she saw something that made her blood run cold.
Harry Potter. He was sitting inside, a drink in his hand. He was laughing and chatting with a few other people his age, and at that moment, a stunning redhead tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a cloak, which he helped her put on.
Lavender turned away from the window. "Come on, let's go!"
"Why?" Susan and Hermione stopped their dancing and started to walk over to her.
"Because, this is boring." Lavender said, coming away from the window rapidly.
"This isn't boring, it's fun!" Hermione said as she came closer. Her eyes moved to the window and the expression on her face went from smiling to shock.
Susan caught on and she and Lavender looked at Hermione with sympathy. Hermione went up even closer to the window, she stared inside with disbelief.
Harry was taking one last sip of his drink and he held his arm out to the girl and smiled at her endearingly. She took it and they started threading through the crowd of people, waving goodbye to their friends.
Hermione's mouth was set in a grim line; she began walking away towards the broom very quickly.
"Hermione…" Lavender and Susan started after her. "Hermione wait…"
"I am SO STUPID!!!" she screamed, kicking at the handle. "Stupid!" she turned around, her breath coming to her in short ragged gasps. A couple on a broom whizzed by, leaving a space wide open in front of a gleaming broom, Harry's Windrider.
A gleam entered Hermione's eye as she began marching over. Grabbing Lavender's wand as she came up behind her, Hermione muttered what she knew would unlock Harry's broom. She took the handle in her hands and ran over to a tree.
"Hermione no!!" Lavender and Susan cried out. Hermione paid them no attention as she proceeded to smack the broom against the strong tree trunk.
Harry was just coming out of the club when he saw a figure grab his broom and whack it on the tree. "HEY!!" he screamed, leaving the girl at his side and rushing over.
Hermione slammed the broom against the trunk several more times before Harry reached her. She whipped her flying curls out of her face and threw the broom at his feet. "Wonderful, isn't it!" she cried out.
"What are you doing?" he asked weakly as he came to a stop in front of her. His broom, his amazing Windrider, was now in a sad state on the ground, smoking and hissing.
"Paris, my ASS!" Hermione took a swing at Harry but he ducked and grabbed her around the waist.
"Hermione, look!" Harry spun her around to face a small crowd of people. "Hermione this is Alexa Potter, my sister. Alexa, this is Hermione Granger."
"Uh…Hermione…hi…" Alexa was obviously trying hard not to laugh.
Hermione's mouth fell open in total and utter embarrassment. "Hi." She managed to mutter. She pushed away from Harry. "How the hell was I supposed to know? You told me you'd be in Paris until tomorrow!"
"My mother wanted to come back early…I tried to get a hold of you when I got back but you were out!" Harry said, trying to take one of her hands in his.
Hermione looked sheepishly at the broom, which gave one final hiss and sank into silence. She had never felt so stupid in her life. "I screwed up." She finally said in a tiny voice.
"Yes but you gave it a hundred percent effort." Harry said, flashing her the grin that she found so irresistible.
Hermione stared at him in shock, she had expected him to yell and carry on, and possibly even break it off with her. A smile began to spread over her face as Harry began to laugh softly. "You…are so odd!" she managed over her own laughter.
"I'm odd? I'M odd?" Harry looked down at his broom. He stepped forward and pulled her close to him. "Think you can fly us home?" he asked, and Hermione nodded. "Come here." Harry said softly, hugging her tightly. Hermione felt small tears behind her eyelids; she couldn't believe that Harry had forgiven her for everything. She wrapped her own arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Everything was going to be all right.
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The next morning Susan got up early and put on her favourite, rather, Ron's favourite green sweater, the one he always said brought out the red in her hair. After witnessing the display between Harry and Hermione the night before, she realized she wasn't very angry at Ron. Slipping quietly out the door, she hurried down to the docks where Ron's father Arthur had just pushed off and Ron was about to follow with some of his guys.
"Ron!" she called out, trying to catch him before he left.
"Hey!" his eyes lit up as she approached.
"I'm sorry for taking your broom." Susan said, smiling down at him a bit shyly.
"It's okay." Ron grinned back. "I'm sorry too. It was only a masking spell, I took it off."
Susan looked over at the name; once again it was her own. "Guess what?"
Ron shrugged. "I don't know, what?"
"My parents are going to London next weekend for four days and four nights." Susan looked gleeful at this news.
"Yeah?" Ron grabbed what looked like a heavy container and lifted it like it was full of nothing but air.
"What do you mean, yeah? Ron, we have my entire house for four days and nights!"
"I heard you." Ron set the container down and picked up another. "I don't want to."
"Ron, please, I told you I was sorry!" Susan thought he was angry about the broom after all.
Ron set the other container down and came up to her, his mouth in a tight line. "Your house, my house, the bathroom at the pizza parlour…" his voice trailed off as some of the other men on the boat laughed. "What's so funny Neville?" he glared menacingly at one of them, who shut his mouth immediately. "I'm telling you Susan, I love you, does that mean anything to you at all?"
"Of course it does Ron, how can you say it doesn't?" Susan was flabbergasted.
"Then tell me you'll marry me." Ron said, his voice gruff. "Tell me right now that you'll be my wife."
Susan could only stare at him, words unable to come out of her mouth.
"Susan, right now, either you tell me you'll marry me or it's over, I can't do this anymore." Ron was obviously upset, but he had to do this. "You say the word, and we're either broken up or we're engaged, but it's got to be one or the other."
"Ron I…." Susan stammered, the growing alarm in her mad her unable to even utter a syllable. They stared at each other for a few long moments and then Ron pulled himself back on the boat.
"I'm sorry Sue….but I'm done." Ron turned to the man who drove the boat. "Let's go." He looked back at Susan again who still had her jaw dropped. "I'm sorry." He repeated, as the boat pulled further and further away.
A/N: Awww *sniff* Susan and Ron broke up :( Think she'll ever work up the courage to marry him? You'll have to keep reading!!
Also, everyone, this will be the LAST story I post on fanfiction.net, as I've had it up to here *makes motion with hand at head* with their outages all the time, I don't think I'm getting the reviews I should be because it's always down.
So from now on everything will be going up at my group, I would REALLY appreciate if you'd join, and I'm working on getting my stuff up at FictionAlley as well.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heavenfanfics
Hope to see everyone around!!!