In the Bushes

In the Bushes

by Art3mis

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The night was fairly quiet. The silence was often interrupted with soft laughter and giggling. Harry Potter walked along the grounds, admiring the fairy lights and reflecting on the night so far.

Due to the immense popularity of the Yule Ball, Dumbledore had decided to reinstate it for sixth year. Harry felt it was much more fun now that he wasn't being forced to lead the dances and didn't necessarily need a date, even though he had one. Ginny was inside getting them drinks. He had told her to meet him outside - he felt like going for a little walk.

Suddenly the bush next to Harry gave a violent shake. He raised an eyebrow, wondering who was having that much fun. He was about to walk away and leave the happy couple alone when he heard voices coming from the bush.

"Stop laughing at me!"

"It's bloody funny."

"It is not. My hair is stuck in this branch! Help me get it out!"

Very familiar voices.

Wait a minute.

"Oh... it's almost out."

"Where are scissors when we need them?"

"RON!"

That did it. Harry bent down and pushed the branches aside to find a very startled Ron and Hermione. Hermione was so shocked that she apparently didn't notice her head being tugged sideways by the branch. He blinked at them, mouth open in surprise. Ron was the first to speak.

"Erm... hi, Harry..." With a tug, he loosed Hermione's hair from the branch, ignoring the loud "Ow!" that came from her direction. Hermione looked over at Harry and immediately turned bright, bright red. "Harry. Hello."

Harry closed his mouth, cleared his throat and stood up, backing away so that Ron and Hermione could stand up. "Hi," he said nervously, although he prevented himself from laughing out loud. He did allow himself a little smirk. "So... why didn't you tell me?"

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other apprehensively. "We... were afraid you'd feel left out or something," said Hermione after a moment of silence. "Like we were going off on our own and leaving you behind."

"Nah," said Harry easily, reassured now that his two best friends had just been scared of hurting him. "I was wondering when this would happen anyway."

"Harry?"

Ginny stood next to him, smiling widely and carrying two butterbeers. "I got the drinks," she said, handing him his and turning towards Ron and Hermione. As she saw Ron, however, her eyes widened and she cast them towards the ground.

Ron's mouth fell open for the second time that night. "Harry... the date you wouldn't tell me about, your mystery date to the ball, was... my sister?"

It was Harry's turn to turn red. He moved his glance to Ginny and mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, "I thought you told him."

Ginny refused to look up at either Harry or Ron. "I thought you told him," she said quietly, her voice a bit squeaky.

There was silence for what felt like a very long time, especially to Harry. Suddenly, it was broken by laughter. Hermione's laughter. She had doubled over, giggling, and as he looked over, he noticed that Ginny had looked up from the ground and was starting to smile again.

Ron looked dumbfounded as Hermione stood up and wiped a tear from her eye. She grinned at Ginny, and then at Harry. "So... I guess we're even," she said, before laughing again.

Ron and Harry shrugged at each other, at Hermione's craziness, but Harry knew that in that moment, everything had been mended between them. They had both kept secrets. And they had both been exposed as liars. They were even.

"Anyone for drinks?" Ginny asked, still giggling a little bit. "You two must be parched," she said, winking roguishly at Hermione, who burst out laughing once again.

Ron let out an indignant snort, but let it go as the four walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. As Harry found Ginny's hand, he decided not to keep secrets like this anymore. It was just too embarrassing to be found out.