The Beauty of First, Er, Second Love

The Beauty of First, Er, Second Love

Ch. 9

Ron was still puzzling over his seeming concern for Daphne's arm when he entered Gryffindor Tower after dinner. He had sat with Neville, Dean and Seamus again, as Harry, Hermione, Daphne and Ginny, of all people, had sat in their usual spot. He didn't know if Daphne had told the others about him helping her in the corridor, but he hoped not. Hermione would pester him about it forever until he admitted he liked Daphne. And he didn't, he told himself firmly as he sat in the armchair closest to the fire.

He was still brooding when Hermione, Harry and Ginny entered moments later. Upon seeing them, Ron hunched down in his seat, hoping they passed him by. Unfortunately, as they hadn't seen him, they decided to move towards the fire, where Ron was sitting.

As they came closer, Ron heard Ginny say, "... Never knew a Slytherin could be so... anti- Snape! I mean, who would've ever guessed? And that bit about Lucius Malfoy and Snape..." Ginny giggled.

Ron had only a second to wonder on that bit of information before Harry spotted him and exclaimed, "Ron! What are you doing here?"

"Sitting," Ron replied morosely, watching as Harry sat on one end of the sofa, Hermione and Ginny on the other, which was closest to Ron. He saw that Hermione refused to talk to him still; she was talking to Ginny now, and blatantly ignoring Ron.

"Oh," said Harry, very clueless. A grin appeared on his face, and it wasn't hard to see why. Parvati had just entered the common room and made a beeline straight to Harry. They soon became absorbed in each other, leaving the silence between Hermione, Ginny and Ron thick.

Ron knew it was only a matter of time before Hermione could restrain herself, and sooner than he thought, she fixed an eye on him and opened her mouth. Ron quickly cut her off with an answering, "Look, Hermione, I really don't want to hear it, ok? Be friends with Daphne if you want, but leave me out of it. I don't want to be with her, and you're going to have to get over it."

Hermione seemed to swallow her tongue. She quickly came out of it and said, "Fine. I'll leave it alone. I think you're making a mistake, but I won't say anything else about it. All right?"

"Good," Ron said quickly. He was relieved Hermione had decided to leave it alone.

"I don't see why you won't go out with her, Ron," Ginny said. "She's actually very... interesting, I guess is the best way to put it. She hates Snape's blatant favouritism for Slytherin. And she hates Malfoy! It can't get any better than that!"

"Now, Ginny," Hermione admonished. "To be fair, she's really only friends with Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini. But she has said how much she dislikes Malfoy," Hermione said thoughtfully.

Ron said nothing, allowing Ginny and Hermione to talk to each other while he drifted out of the conversation. He found himself listening to snatches of what they said, such as, "... Can't believe she got Sorted into Slytherin," and, "So funny! Didn't know Slytherins had a sense of humor..." He had begun drifting off to sleep when he heard Hermione say, "... Butterbeers with her at the Three Broomsticks next Hogsmeade visit."

He sat straight up and asked, in a very loud voice, "What?!"

Heads turned to him from all around the common room; he only looked harder at Hermione and Ginny. "What is this about butterbeers with Daphne in the Three Broomsticks next Hogsmeade?"

Hermione went pink, but looked at Ron with a very determined air.

"Yes," she affirmed, "Daphne asked me and Ginny to have a butterbeer with her in the Three Broomsticks next Hogsmeade weekend. And we've told her yes, so there's no use in you warning us to stay away."

Ron went redder with each word, and was about to tell Hermione exactly what he thought of that idea, when Hermione interrupted to say, "No, Ron. It's done now; we've already agreed. Besides, if I have to keep my nose out of your business with her, you do too. It's only fair."

"Fine!" Ron shouted, throwing his hands up. He stood and stomped angrily to the staircase leading to the dorms. Pausing, he turned and said, "Just don't say I didn't warn you when she tries to turn you and Harry over to You Know Who." And he stormed upstairs before Hermione could think up a suitable retort.

Hermione growled. But miraculously, she managed to keep her mouth shut. Turning to Ginny, she took up the conversation once more, pushing Ron as far from her thoughts as possible.

****

When the last Hogsmeade visit of the year rolled around in June, Hermione and Ginny were waiting in the Entrance Hall for Daphne. She finally appeared from the dungeons, and the three girls set out for Hogsmeade, chatting about school subjects, friends and Daphne's difficulty in staying in the Slytherin dorms.

"It's easy now," she was saying as they approached the village. "I just put a special curse on my bed and all my clothes and other belongings. Any Slytherin that comes within a foot of my stuff gets blasted. And I don't mean a tiny swat either," she demonstrated. "I mean, they get knocked off their feet and thrown across the room. It's really quite nice now," she finished happily. She saw Ginny and Hermione were staring at her, so she said, "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them. It just gives them a nice reminder to stay away from my things."

Hermione nodded, knowing Daphne had to protect herself somehow. Her housemates had gotten brutal in the corridors lately; they shoved her, muttered obscenities when she passed them in class, and one had even spat on her. Of course, Daphne had simply cursed the student with a nice Densaugeo, and no one bothered her after she had cursed her things as well. They still muttered their insults, but Daphne merely brushed them off. She was harder than people realized.

Finally, they arrived at the Three Broomsticks and slid in a booth together. They began chatting about their schoolwork again when Ron appeared, with Harry in tow. The two boys were friends again, and had decided to get a drink first. Upon seeing Hermione and Daphne, they simply waved.

Hermione waved back in a resigned way. She and Ron had agreed to be friends again, but it was a rocky thing. They never mentioned Daphne, and if she was around when Ron was, he simply moved away from her. He said nothing about her anymore, out of respect for Hermione, and they avoided any conversation that might include her. It sometimes made for a strain in the friendship, but at least they weren't at each other's throats anymore. It was a slight improvement.

Harry was between the two. He never mentioned Daphne either, but he would sometimes choose to sit with Daphne and Hermione at mealtimes, to which Ron would simply sit with Dean, Seamus and Neville. They never made a big deal of it, it just happened. Everyone felt like sometimes simply knocking Ron over the head to make him see how ridiculous it was, but they held their tongues. It would only complicate the bond, of sorts, that they had formed.

After the boys moved to their own table, Hermione sighed and interrupted Ginny's tirade on the essay Snape wanted next class that, according to her, "... Has to be one whole roll of parchment! Can you believe it?"

Hermione cut in with, "Idiot!"

"I know!" Ginny agreed, getting fired up with the support. "And on Tuesday-"

"No, not Snape," Hermione said. "I mean Ron! He's being an idiot about this whole thing," she said, gesturing between Daphne and herself to emphasize.

"Look, Hermione..." Daphne said slowly. "I've been thinking, and this is the perfect time to bring it up. I don't want to come between a friendship like yours and Ron's. It's lasted for six years now, and I don't want it to break up. Maybe we should just stop-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Hermione warned. "There must be some way..." And she snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Daphne asked, a confused look crossing her face.

"I have a way to get Ron to admit he likes you! It's very easy, really; I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!"

Ginny looked as if Christmas had come early; she was rubbing her hands together in anticipation. Daphne simply lifted on eyebrow and looked at her in a questioning way.

"Oh, don't look at me like that! I know you want Ron to like you. A crush doesn't just fade over night, you know." Hermione pushed a lock of bushy hair behind one ear. "Now, listen to my plan. You'll see."

When Hermione had finished telling them what she planned to do, Ginny's eyes were round with excitement. Daphne had a look of doubt on her face.

"It sounds good, Hermione, but I don't know. Is Ron really thick enough to fall for that?"

"Yeah, he is!" Ginny said. "Trust me. I'm his sister, and I guarantee if we do this exactly right, he'll fall for it hook, line and sinker!"

Hermione laughed. "Where did you learn that Muggle expression?"

Ginny coloured slightly. "I've heard Dean use it once or twice. I've been waiting to try it out. Why? Did I do it wrong?" Ginny bit her lip, looking worried.

"No, it was fine! I've just never known a Wizard or Witch to use that one before." At Ginny's relieved nod, she continued. "Now, back to the plan. Let's do it like this..."