Slumber Party

"And to think... Just across the way those dreadful boys know nothing of what’s going on in here," Parvati said as she flounced onto Lavender’s bed.

"What do you mean, dreadful?" Lavender demanded, turning from the mirror, Sawna’s Strawberry Savor Lip Gloss in her hand. "Who’s dreadful?"

"All those Gryffindor boys are dreadful," Ginny said with a grin aimed at Hermione who was across the room sitting cross-legged on the floor. Ginny flipped over on Hermione’s bed so that she lay on her back, with her head dangling off the edge, looking at Hermione upside down. "Isn’t that right Hermione?" she said knowingly at her friend.

"Positively horrid," Hermione declared with a grin.

The Gryffindor girls erupted into giggles and Lavender began flouncing around the room applying the lip-gloss to everyone. It was the annual end of year slumber party and there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that they would all be suffering from puffy eyes and pale faces tomorrow at the leaving feast. However, it was tradition for all girls in Gryffindor house to celebrate the end of the year with a party to say goodbye to their seventh year friends and just… let loose.

There was a banging on the door and Lavender flounced over, hopping over the tiny cauldron Hermione was bent over and opening the door with a flourish. "Ahh," she grinned. "Calories!"

Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell entered, their arms filled with chocolate, sweets, and bottles of butterbeer from the kitchens.

"Yes," Alicia said dropping everything onto Parvati’s bed. "We shall stuff our faces like boys tonight!"

"The first and seconds years are getting a little rowdy," Angelina grinned and opened a bottle of butterbeer. "We just saw them in the hall. Something about Truth or Dare."

"Ah, remember those days?" Parvati grinned. "Truth or Dare. It was fun, wasn’t it, Hermione?" 

"Oh, loads," she said sarcastically, adding something to her cauldron.

Ginny grinned at Hermione and flopped off the bed. Ginny knew that Hermione didn’t much care for these slumber parties and she was quite proud of her friend for joining in the fun.  "It was only last year, Parvati. ‘Those days,’ honestly. As if it were so long ago."

"And we’re NOT playing it again," Hermione added, her face bright red.

"Well, Miss Ginny, since you are the youngest in the room, you get to decide if we do play it tonight," Alicia offered.   

"Hmm, I think we can find other things to do... besides I’m a bit bored with that game. I’ve played it so many times."

Hermione grinned gratefully at Ginny who thought her decision hadn’t been entirely unselfish... Ginny had her own secrets she didn’t want revealed.

"It’s done!" Hermione declared and all the girls shrieked. "Although I’ll never know how you convinced me to make this..."

"Let’s try it out on me first," Parvati said. "I want to be blonde."

"I want Ginny’s hair color!" Katie announced.

"Ew! On purpose?" Ginny shrieked.

"How does it work, Hermione?"

"Three drops on your head, one on the crown, and one just above each ear. Then you take your wand and there are instructions for each color’s incantation. Here, look. There are pictures for the different blondes, Parvati."

"Ginny, come here, let me match your hair to this color guide," Katie said. 

They spent the next hour changing hair colors, shrieking with laughter at the bad results, oohing and ahhing at the good.  Ginny stood in front of the mirror and stared with trepidation at her new golden blonde locks and immediately felt nostalgia for her flaming red.  "Give me the Stripping Solution.  I would never be able to live this down in my house, can you imagine my brothers?"

Hermione giggled.  "I’m thinking it’s your mum you’ve got to worry about."

"Oh, come on, Hermione!" Lavender said, rubbing the Stripping Solution through her own hair—Parvati had died it green as a joke. "Just try it out!"

"Yes, you’re going to," Parvati declared as Hermione started to refuse.  "Raven black!" 

"No!" Hermione shrieked.

"Okay, then, we’ll pick a really good color, come on, please?" Parvati pouted.

"If you think I’m letting you anywhere near my hair, you’ve gone mad," Hermione exclaimed, gesturing to Lavender’s lime green tresses.

"Then I’ll do it," Ginny stated, flouncing over to Hermione, golden curls tumbling over her shoulders.

"I don’t want-"

"Here, look," Ginny picked up the color chart and pointed to a color that was a bit lighter than Hermione’s original.

"That’s practically the same color as my own," Hermione said sensibly.

"Then what harm will it do to try it out?" Ginny said just as sensibly.  The two girls locked eyes and exchanged grins.  "It’ll knock my brother off his feet."

"He won’t even notice," Hermione waved her hand in dismissal.

"Want to bet?" Ginny lifted a brow. Ginny knew Hermione didn’t dismiss anything about Ron as easily as she made off.

A foolish grin spread across Hermione’s face.  "Okay, fine.  But," she said firmly as the others cheered.  "I’m washing it out afterwards."

"Duh.  Did you really think any of us are keeping it like this?" Parvati asked, braiding her new white blonde mane.

"I dunno," Katie said, turning this way and that in the mirror.  "I love my new color." She sent Ginny a grin.

"You won’t love it for long, trust me," Ginny told her wryly.

There was another knock on the door then, and Lavender trotted over, "Probably the first years—what have you little girls done now- AAGGHH!!"  Lavender screamed and slammed the door.

"WHAT!?!" everyone shrieked.

"It’s a boy!"

"Which boy?"

Just then, the door opened (Lavender dove out of sight with a squeal) and Fred Weasley poked his head inside, a hand covering his eyes.  "Ladies… I do beg your pardon"- Angelina giggled shrilly- "Not to worry, I can’t see a thing."

Ginny rolled her eyes, thinking that Fred could see perfectly well through the large slit in his fingers. However, her idiotic brother stood there with his hand over his eyes and talked.  "If I could… borrow Angelina for a moment, I promise I’ll return her." 

"Did you tell?" Ginny demanded of Angelina.

Fred looked through his fingers at his sister and he dropped his hand in shock. "Ginny!"

"What?" she said innocently, touching her blonde hair.  "Don’t you like it?"

"Never will I understand the mind of the witch." Then he smiled roguishly at Angelina.  "A word, my dear?"

"I suppose," she said, rolling her eyes again. Ginny thought that Angelina must roll her eyes quite a bit, as much time as she spent with Fred.

"Beware, Angelina, he wants more than a word!" came a loud male voice from outside the room and Lavender’s eyes widened.

"Seamus?" she called. 

Fred disappeared, there was a loud thud, then he reappeared, saucy grin in place.  "Shall we?"

Rolling her eyes yet again, Angelina followed him into the passageway. The door closed and, after ten minutes, she came back in, a foolish grin of her own spreading across her pink cheeks.  "Ten minutes for him to have a word?" Alicia said wryly.

Angelina shrugged, fanning herself.  "What can I say? He’s a man of many words."

Everyone giggled, or at least everyone except Ginny who pretended to gag.  "Ew! That’s my brother you’re talking about."

"Better get used to hearing about your brothers like that, Ginny," Hermione said softly with a little smile on her face.

Parvati’s and Lavender’s mouths dropped open in astonishment, but Angelina grinned.  "What is it, Hermione, about those  Weasley men?" she sighed.

Hermione went very red, but grinned in spite of herself.

"Ah… being in love…it’s grand…" Lavender said dreamily, flopping down on her bed, her green hair fanning out around her.

Ginny smiled to herself, her mind landing, as it always did, on the boy she’d loved since she was a little girl.  Then she flipped off Hermione’s bed and grabbed the Stripping Solution to put her hair right.

~*~

"Oh, man," Fred said, pushing his way through the fifth year dorms and taking a swig of butterbeer.  "Do you have any idea what’s going on over there?" he demanded of the Gryffindor men.  "Girls everywhere… and they’re putting some sort of potion in their hair and… it’s all good."

Harry shook his head on a laugh as Seamus and Dean groaned.  "Did you see, er, Lavender, then?" Seamus asked, turning the color of turnips.

Fred plopped down next to George, took a long swig of butterbeer and grinned at Seamus.  "Sorry, man, her hair was green."

Harry spit out his own butterbeer and they all howled with laughter as the color drained from Seamus’s face.

"Green!?"

George pulled out his deck of Wizard’s Poker cards and the "men" sat in a circle on the floor and played, a huge pile of Bertie Botts Beans in the center as the coin pot.

"Was Hermione with them?" Ron asked nonchalantly, his own face the color of the Gryffindor banner on the wall. Harry, lying on his stomach, propped himself up higher on his elbows and smirked into his cards.

"Yes, Ronny, Hermione was there," Fred said in a teasing voice. "Dunno what color her hair’s going to turn out, Ginny was just starting it."

"She’s changing her hair?" Ron looked amazed and this time Harry could see where he was coming from. Hermione never did anything so girlish.  Well hardly ever, Harry corrected himself with a grin, remembering the look on Ron’s face when Hermione had come down dressed for their End of Term Dance a week ago.  Hermione had looked as pretty as all the other girls, even prettier in Harry’s opinion, and Ron had gone just as red as he was now.

"Wait a second, I don’t like the sound of our innocent little sister being influenced by those wild girls," George said, sitting up.  "I’m going to tell her to go to bed right now."

"Too late," Fred said. "She’s already gone, young Ginny. Dyed her hair blonde, she did!"

Harry looked up from his cards, his smile fading.

"Blonde!?" Ron shrieked. "What was she THINKING?! I’m going to tell her off!"

"No, Ron, you cannot go in there, I forbid you!" Fred said. "You’ll never be the same."

"Wait till mum sees; Ginny won’t know what hit her," George said and tossed three beans onto the pile. "So… have a good snog with Angelina, Fred?"

Neville clasped his hand over his mouth. Seamus snorted and Dean grinned, but Harry and Ron were thinking about other things.

"I never kiss and tell," Fred said indignantly. Then he grinned.  "Yeah, it was good."

"Green hair," Seamus muttered and shook his head.

"What are you thinking about Ron?" Fred said with a leering grin.  "Wondering what it would be like to snog Hermione?"

Ron’s face positively glowed. "Shut it, will you?"

"You mean you haven’t…?" Seamus asked, then broke off at the warning look on Ron’s face. "Man, what are you waiting for?"

"The right moment," Ron growled through gritted teeth.

"You’re doing it tonight," George said.

"Right now," Fred said.

"What?!" Ron yelled.  "You’re nutters all of you!"

"Right now," Fred said again and stood up, motioning for George to help him heave Ron to his feet.

Ron, taller than the both of them, shoved away.  "You’ve bloody well lost you’re minds," he growled.  "I’m going to bed." And with that Ron threw himself in bed and pulled the covers up over his head.

Fred and George looked to Harry for help, who shook his head.  He’d vowed once not to get in the middle of anything to do with Ron and Hermione and it had been a very wise decision.

"Come on, Ron, you won’t regret it, promise you."

"Ron, we’re you’re big brothers! Would we lie to you?"

There was a loud grunt from under the covers.

"This is an outrage, Fred! He’s ruining the family name!" 

"If Bill knew… bloody hell, he’d disown him."

"Ron she likes you! Now don’t ask me why, but she does.  And she’s smart!  You think she’s going to wait around forever?"

"Girl’s want to be kissed, Ron!" Fred said.

"She’s going to think you don’t want to kiss her!" George said crossly.

The covers came off. "What do you mean?"  Ron asked, lying there like a lump.

"You keep dodging her, she’ll begin to think there’s something wrong with her," Fred said.  "Not a good thing."

Ron sat up, looking terrified.

"Ron, get off your arse, go up to the girls dormitory, ask Hermione for a word and then kiss her!"

"But—I don’t even know—"

"It’ll come naturally, Ron," Fred said wisely.

"Come on, Ron, even Harry’s done it!" Seamus put in.

Harry felt his insides shrivel.  Ron clasped a hand over his mouth and looked at Harry with wide eyes.

Fred and George were beside themselves.  "Harry! Way to go, old man! Who’s the lucky girl?"
Ron began coughing very loudly and Seamus realized his mistake. 

"Yeah, Harry, who is it?" Neville asked curiously.

"Awe, Seamus," Dean cracked up, glanced up at Fred and George’s confused faces and broke into laughter again.

Fred and George were now looking from Ron, who had his head buried in a pillow and was coughing himself to death, to  Harry, who’s face had turned bright red.  "Yeah, Harry, who is it?"

"Parvati Patil!" Seamus lied brightly.

But Fred and George didn’t buy it.  "I wont say who I’m thinking it is, because, well, that’s just-" 

"Ridiculous-"

"Despicable-"

"Bloody insane-"

"Enough already, it’s Ginny, okay?" Ron said, in a bad-tempered sort. "If I can get over it, so can you two." 

"Now wait just a minute," George said, his eyes narrowing.

"Hang on," Harry said sitting up, his stomach in knots.  "It wasn’t… I mean, it was perfectly innocent and… I never… I didn’t plan—I’m going to be sick."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Fred said, frowning.

"Look, Harry and Ginny are old news by now!" Ron shrieked.  "Get over it!"

"Old news? When did this all happen?" George demanded.

"It was just last week," Harry muttered.  "At the End of Term Ball." It had actually been the strangest, most confusing night of Harry’s life… In a really… fascinating sort of way.

"You didn’t go with Ginny to the ball," George frowned.

"Neither of them had dates," Ron said impatiently.  "They danced a few dances and bla, bla, bla, snogged in the common room, bla, bla, however they are not the issue here, I AM! I’m the one going off to kiss Hermione!"

"SNOGGED IN THE COMMON ROOM?!" bellowed the twins.

Face on fire, Harry shot to his feet. "We didn’t snog, Ron, it was just a-"

"Just a what, exactly?" Fred asked.

"A kiss! That’s all! I’ve got to go to bed now!"

"DIDN’T ANYONE HEAR ME!?" Ron bellowed.  "Fine, if you don’t care, I’ll just do this on my own then!" And he slammed out of the room. 

Everyone sat stunned for a few seconds, then, looking at each other in surprise, they bolted out of the room after him.  Pajama clad, with bare feet, the Gryffindor men caught up to Ron who was marching with purposeful strides across the common room to the girls staircase. Fred and George grabbed Ron by the arm before he went in and Harry tried not look appalled at the advice they gave him.  He imagined Ron wouldn’t come close to needing any of that information and fully understood when Ron shoved Fred away. 

"Good luck," Harry called and Ron turned back. They grinned nervously at each other before Ron pushed through the door leading to the staircase. There were butterflies in Harry’s own stomach when he sat down in a chair and nervously tapped his foot. 

The rest of the guys followed Harry and threw themselves in chairs by the fire, knowing grins spreading across their faces, boasting about their own first kisses although none of the used the word "kiss."  Harry didn’t say much—he didn’t think it wise to even bring up the fact much less brag about his experiences with Fred’s and George’s baby sister—as minimal as they were. After a few minutes, voices could be heard coming from the girls’ staircase and the boys hushed one another, ready to make a mad dash if it were Ron and Hermione.  There were a slew of giggles and "shushes" and many light footsteps. 

Then Harry’s stomach gave a little jump as Ginny’s voice sounded above all the giggling. "Come on, we can’t spy on them! Let’s go back and let them have privacy."

"Oh, Ginny, don’t be a baby!" Lavender giggled.  "We’re just going to have a peek!"

At that six girls tiptoed into the common room in their nightdresses and bare feet.

"Looks like our luck has changed," Fred said with a wide grin.

The room was filled with earsplitting screams.  The boys shot to their feet in alarm as all the girls clutched their dressing gowns closed.

"What are you lot doing?" demanded George, staring at Katie’s red hair in awe.

"Moral support for Hermione," Parvati panted, gripping her nightdress.  "What about you all?"

"Moral support for Ron,"  Seamus supplied.

Harry would have laughed at the lie, but his eyes were on Ginny.

"Your hair’s not green," Seamus said with relief.

Lavender blushed. "Green. Honestly."

Seamus grinned. "Want to, er, go for a walk?"

Lavender giggled and exchanged looks with Parvati. "Okay, then."  And they left through the portrait hole. 

"I’m in the mood for a walk, as well," George said and to everyone’s surprise, grabbed Katie’s hand and pulled her out of the room.

Alicia and Angelina exchanged openmouthed looks before bursting into giggles.  Everyone started laughing and talking at once, boys mingling with girls as they all wondered where Ron and Hermione could possibly be.

Harry and Ginny stood in the middle of it all, looking nervously at each other.  "You’re hair’s the same."  It was all he could think to say.

Ginny blushed and smiled sheepishly.  "I decided red suits me best."

Harry grinned back. "Good."

With grins plastered across their flushed faces, they joined the rest to wait for Ron and Hermione to return.