Harry Potter: Family Ties

CHAPTER 3

The next week, Harry was obviously still fuming at Ron. He still didn't even so much as acknowledge that Ron was there anymore. This really disheartened him, because Ron was up to his neck in homework as it was, and Ginny told him that Harry had forced their project on him.

"Well, what did you expect?" Ginny had asked when she told Ron the news. "Since when has Harry ever been a completely sensible person?"

"I can't remember... I think the last time he was sensible was... Second year?" Ginny blushed. Second year had been the year Harry saved Ginny from the Basilisk. Ron poked his sister in the shoulder.

"Well... I suppose I should get to that mountain of homework. See you."

"... Your homework?" Hermione was saying.

Ron startled. "What?"

"I asked you how you were doing on your homework."

"Oh. Fine, I guess."

"Ron, you are spending every second of your free time in the library. Please, even I spend less time in there. Do you need help?"

"No! No, I've got it under control. I just need to finish this -- potions -- homework -- where -- where did it go?" Ron started searching frantically for the paper he'd been writing.

"I've already done it. And your Transfiguration," Hermione said, smiling down on Ron.

"You -- what?" It took Ron a minute to register this information.

"I've done your homework for you. Do you know what time it is?"

"No," Ron said simply.

"It's almost one thirty in the morning. Now get your self up to bed. You can thank me later," Hermione said courteously. She kissed Ron on the cheek and got up.

Ron started to get up, but his head fell on the table instead. The surface was so smooth, so cold. It felt good. Ron opened his eyes, tried to get up, but felt glued to the table. His eyes drooped...

Hermione came back downstairs, now in her pajamas and dressing gown. She picked Ron's head up and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron felt her tongue slipping into his mouth and let it do so enthusiastically.

"Ron Weasley! Ron Weasley, sir!" A high, squeaky voice interrupted his Ron's dream and he woke with a start.

"What the--! D-dobby? Is that you?" Ron looked around the fire lit room.

"Yes sir, yes!" the little house elf squeaked happily. "Dobby is here to clean Gryffindor Common Room, sir! What is you doing down here? 'Tis very late." Dobby's eyes saw the pile of papers on the table. "What is that?" he asked, pointing.

"It's -- it's my homework. I'm done w-w-with it now, though," Ron said, stifling a yawn.

"Then yous ought to be in bed, sir. Like Dobby said, Ron Weasley, sir, 'tis very late. The chair must not be too comfortable, and the beds is soft and fluffy --"

"Thanks, Dobby. I'll go up to bed now. See you," Ron said, getting up and leaving his school work on the table. He was partly mad at Dobby for waking him. It had been a very good dream, and he'd wanted to see where it would go -- and then, as Ron walked into the dormitory, he heard a small, muffled sob. Wishing his eyes would hurry and get used to the pitch-blackness of the room, Ron looked around to find who was crying. He figured it must be Neville -- he cried lots at night lately, for some reason -- but no, he heard a loud, long snore, which was clearly Neville's. And then he heard another small sob. It was coming from near the window, but it couldn't be -- that was Harry's bed next to the window!

"H-Harry?" Ron whispered through the darkness, heading over to Harry's bed. Even though Harry was still angry with him, Ron felt he had to do something -- what if something were terribly wrong? The sobs suddenly stopped, and there was a strange noise, like a cross between a sob, a snore, and a snort. This made Ron sure that it was Harry who was crying.

"Harry, are you okay?" Harry gave a loud, fake snore. Right, now you're faking, Ron thought to himself. You don't even snore. Thinking of what Harry might say in the morning if Ron tried to talk to Harry further, Ron got into bed without changing and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Ron got up early and went to find Ginny. When he got to the Common Room, he found that Dobby had packed up his things in order of what class he had. Ron had two theories on how Dobby knew his schedule -- either he'd never taken out his schedule paper, or Dobby was stalking Ron. He hoped that the latter was not true. Ron ran his bag upstairs and went back down to continue his search for Ginny.

He found her halfway to the Great Hall for an early breakfast. "Hey Gin!" he called, running up to her.

"Hi, Ron. What's up?"

"I need to tell you something." And he launched into the story from the night before. He figured it'd be best to just start from when he went up to bed. "D'you know why?" he asked as they were sitting down together.

"No..." Ginny said slowly, squinting her eyes, obviously thinking hard. "Maybe he misses you?" she suggested, unsure of herself.

"If Harry was crying from missing me then I'm the First Lady of the United States," Ron said. Ginny smiled sarcastically. Ron looked over her shoulder toward the door, not really focusing -- until Hermione came in. He thought of his dream he'd had last night and felt his ears turn red.

"Ron, are you okay?" Ginny asked, waving her hand in front of Ron's eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Ron said as he was jerked back into reality. Come on, sit with us, sit with us -- Ron sent a silent message to Hermione.

"Hey, Herm, over here!" Ginny called. She waved her hand and patted the table next to her. Yes -- Ron was sitting right across from that spot.

"What's up?"

"Ron heard Harry crying last night," Ginny whispered.

"Well of course. He talked to me during lunch yesterday --"

"He talked to you?" Luckily, Ron's jealousy was hidden by the fact that Harry and Ginny were going together.

"Well -- yes. Anyway, he told me how stupid he thought Ron's idea was, and that he's kind of sad that it's not true, because it would have meant one step closer to knowing more about his family, and he can't tell Ron he's sorry because he'd feel like too much of an idiot. He's really upset. I've never seen him like this -- he's more upset than he was last year when we lost the Quidditch Cup," Hermione said, buttering her toast.

"Really? Wow. I wonder why he didn't talk to me?" Ginny wondered aloud, adding some cream to her coffee.

"He said he didn't feel like you'd understand. He didn't tell me why, though. Probably 'cos you're a year younger than us, and you two haven't been going out for too long. Have you?" Hermione added, taking the cream from Ginny.

"No," Ginny said as she piled too much bacon onto her plate, not noticing that a piece of bacon fell onto her lap. She blushed.

"Right. Well, anyway -- Harry said that he really wants to find out who his family was -- that is, he wants to know more about them. He asked me if I'd help him today -- being Saturday -- so I agreed. Can you two find something to do all day?" she added, looking up at Ron. Ron felt his ears go red again.

"Yeah. Ron, have you finished that project for Lupin yet?"

"No."

"D'you want me to help you with it? Two heads are better than one," Ginny added, winking.

"Thir --" Ron swallowed a great bite of pancake -- "Sure," he said.

"Fine, we can do that then --"

"Well, I'm off. See you." Hermione got up and waved to Ginny and Ron.

"'Bye," Ron said weakly, staring after her.

"You fancy her, don't you." This wasn't a question -- it was more of a demand.

"Yeah," Ron said dreamily. "I mean -- well, she's okay... Those pretty brown eyes, the brown hair..."

"Are you done eating? Then we should get to your project," Ginny said, getting up.

"Yeah... Yeah, great." Ron jerked into reality again. "Yeah. Let's go. All right, we're doing the Patronus Charm... I haven't had much time to work on it yet, I've had a bloody pile of other homework."

"Right, have you even checked out any books for it?"

"No," Ron confessed.

"And you've been in the library twenty four seven. That's sick. Okay, I'll talk to Madam Pince and you get us a table. Do you have anything for it in Gryffindor?"

"No. Oh wait, I've got my bag up there," Ron said, walking off to find a table.

Ginny sighed. "Go and get it. Claim us a table when you get back if I've not found the proper books yet."

"Right," Ron said miserably. He could think of a hundred things he'd rather be doing. Well, he thought dully, at least I get in some quality time with my sister.

CHAPTER 4

"Well, how much work did you get done?" Hermione asked, a few hours later.

"We got over half done," Ron said proudly.

"Wow. Let me guess -- Ginny did the researching," Hermione said, prodding Ron on the shoulder.

"Yeah. But we still got a lot done. What did you and Harry find out?" Ron asked, slightly emphasizing Harry's name in a way of jealousy that he had gotten to work with Hermione. Once again, his jealousy was luckily hidden, this time by his current row with Harry.

"Not much. Actually, it took us so long to find anything about Harry's family that we only found a few copies of Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, and of course I've already read those. There was hardly anything about Harry's family, mostly it was about how he's 'The Boy Who Lived' and stuff. I don't get it, it's like any books about the Potters were banned from the library when Fudge thought Harry was a raving lunatic. I wish Hogwarts had 'Book Sleuths.'"

"Book whats?" Ron asked, confused.

"Book Sleuths! In Muggle bookstores they have these things that can help you find books using title or author or even keywords, they're very convenient," Hermione explained in her special "Why-Don't-You-Know-Anything-About-These-Things" tone.

"Oh. Well... Whatever. So you didn't find anything about Harry's family, then?" Ginny asked.

"Nope." Hermione seemed disappointed.

"I could help you try to find something," Ron suggested hopefully -- he'd love to have an excuse to be with Hermione for hours, he admitted to himself.

"What about your project?" Hermione asked reluctantly.

"I've got 'till next Friday."

"Well... All right. Harry and I are going back tomorrow again --"

"I'm not doing nothing with Harry. Not even if you're there. So either drop me or drop Harry --" Ron cut himself off. He realized too late that this was a very mindless thing to say -- it was obvious that this whole subject was more important to Harry. "I mean -- well, I'd rather do it... Some other time... How about next week so I won't have the project looming over my head anymore?"

"Er... Okay... Ron, do you really want to do this? I mean, would you rather have homework help or something? Because that I can do before or after I work with Harry..."

"Yeah, that would work... Sure. After will work."

"Well, you two, I'll go now... I'm late for... something," Ginny said, slowly backing away.

"What are you late for?"

"Oh... Nothing."

"No, come on! What are you late for?" Ron asked, smiling.

"It's nothing!" Ginny called, now running.

"Weird... Well, shall we go on to dinner?" Hermione suggested.

"Oh -- sure." Ron hadn't realized how long he'd been in the library. He should have noticed he didn't go to lunch -- why wasn't he starving? All of a sudden, there was a loud, long, low rumbling sound that came from right around Ron's stomach. "There we go--"

"What?" Hermione said, looking at Ron confusedly.

"Oh -- nothing, I was just -- nothing," Ron said, shrugging.

"Okay. So... Any word on the You-And-Harry-Quarrel?"

"No."

"Really, Ron, I think -- wait -- never mind."

"What?"

"Well, I was going to say that you should apologize to him but you're the one who should be apologized to," Hermione said, smiling at Ron.

"Yeah. Yeah, exactly, Hermione."

"Well, maybe I'll try to make Harry apologize -- you know -- while we're working together."

"How long are you going to be working with the prat, anyway?" Ron asked as him and Hermione reached the Great Hall.

"I don't know. As long as he wants to, I guess."

"But -- do you really have to help him the whole time?"

"Well -- no, I guess not... Could you pass the salad dressing?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Here you go. So --" Ron couldn't say anything for the food he'd just stuffed in his mouth without realizing it. He coughed, swallowed, (after chewing, of course) and tried again. "So -- so, Herm --" Ron noticed he'd picked up his glass of pumpkin juice and was drinking. He swallowed and tried one more time. "S --"

"Hey, Hermione!" Lavender called down the table. "We're going to do another homework group tomorrow, want to come?"

"Sure! What were you saying, Ron?" Hermione asked, turning back to him.

"Never mind. It's not important," Ron said, shoving food into his mouth. He took another swig of pumpkin juice and got up. "Well, I'm done eating," he said.

"Wait -- Ron! You can join us too," Hermione said, smiling.

"Oh -- no, that's okay --"

"Please?" Hermione pouted. You can never ignore that, Ron thought.

"Fine," he said, pretending to sound uninterested.

"Great. We meet at the table near the window by the History Section in the library at five twenty," Hermione said, smiling largely. She coughed and took a rather large bite of food and choked.

Not used to eating to cover up for something, are we? Ron asked himself as he walked away. The truth was he was still very hungry, but he couldn't stand being alone with Hermione when he half wanted to ask her out.

So he decided to head down to the kitchens and get food from the house-elves. They were always good company, praising you wherever you went.

Halfway to the kitchens, Ron found he was not hungry at all, but he felt sick. He changed directions and went up to the hospital wing instead. Luckily there was a handy passageway to the fourth floor, because he felt like he was going to be sick -- and he felt too weak to go up three floors of stairs.

Bang. Ron had just knocked in to someone, causing them to drop their books.

"Oh, sorry -- wait, no I'm not," he added, noticing that it was Harry he'd banged into.

"Ron, don't be so --"

"So what? Mad that you're angry at me because I had a stupid idea?"

"You know what, it was a stupid idea. So why don't you go and cry about it and the whole world will be a better place --"

"Go sod yourself, Harry."

"Well well, I see someone's in a temper --"

"Harry, I mean it, bugger off --"

"You know what, I just might. And if you're lucky I might just forget this happened and we can go back to the way we were before you made me drop my bloody books," Harry said, glaring at Ron. Ron sensed a hint of sarcasm but wasn't exactly sure about it.

"Fine with me," Ron said coolly, and with that he went on his way to the hospital wing, lost in thought...

The bastard, he was thinking, what the hell is his sodding problem anyway? 'Ooh, I'm Harry and the world goes my way or the Highway!' Well, he can just go shrivel up and die in a pit, for all I care. Who is he to be so pissed at me for having a stupid, bloody, idiotic idea like that anyway? I --

"Yes, can I help you?" Madam Pomfrey said, looking at Ron.

"Yeah. I feel sick," Ron said, sitting down on a bed.

"What form of sick?"

"Er -- stomach ache. And my head hurts a bit, too."

"All right. Lay down, get comfortable -- I'll be right out with something for you."

Half an hour later, Ron headed up to Gryffindor. He'd been feeling just fine for twenty-eight minutes now, but Madam Pomfrey made him stay longer to make sure he didn't get sick right away again -- his immune system would need resting, she'd said.

By the time Ron got to Gryffindor Tower, most people were packing op their things to head to their first classes. He rushed over to the boys' stairs to get his things.

"Hey -- Ron! Over here!" It was Colin Creevey.
"Oh. Hi Colin."

"Hi! I wanted to ask you something. Do you mind?"

"I guess not, as long as it doesn't take too long."

"Nah, it won't. Er --" Colin took a deep breath. "WhyareyouandHarryfighting?"

"What?"

"Why are you and Harry in a fight? Was it --?"

"Colin, I really don't want to talk about this right now," Ron snapped.

"But --"

"No. Maybe later. Probably not. No, you know what, I don't want to talk about it. Ever. At all." Ron dashed up the stairs, grabbed his books, and ran down. By this time only a few people were left in the Common Room. Ron ran across the room and out the portrait hole. He had to get all the way to Potions. Where was that secret passageway? It was a long slide all the way from the sixth floor to the first floor. Ha, he'd found it -- now he just had to get through it and run the rest of the way to Potions --

The bell rang right when he got to the bottom of the passageway. Crap.

The door was stuck! What now? Should he just climb up and miss Potions? Or should he bang on the door and hope people heard it? No, that would be useless; it didn't open from the outside on the bottom. Or did it? He was sure there was a button that turned it into a staircase, so someone could get up more quickly than running around the streams of students. But where was it? It was dark in the passage. Suddenly, a light turned on above him. Someone was going to slide down! He had to warn them --

"NO! DON'T COME DOWN HERE -- THE DOOR'S JAMMED! IT WON'T OPEN! DON'T --" but he heard a whooshing noise and then-- thump. Whoever it was had just crashed into him. Wow, today was hell-ish.

"Ow! Why are you in here?"

"Like I yelled up to you, the door's jammed --"
"Oh, well, how on earth did you expect me to hear you, I was five floors above you --"

"Well, I'm sorry --"

"Yeah, well, find the handle --"

"I told you, it's locked --"

"Yes, but you see, if the handle's there, then we can use alohomora now, can't we?"

"Yeah, I tried that, too, but it's too dark in here --"

"Are you a wizard or what?"

"Oh! Right --lumos." Ron lit his wand and turned to the person he was in there with and it was -- "Harry. What the h--"

"Ron, before you get into your idiot mode --"

"Idiot mode? Is that what you call it? Or did Hermione make that up? Was it Hermione, while you were researching? What do you two do, anyway, gossip about me, in the same chair probably, all alone in your little corner in the quiet library --"

"Shut up. You want me to answer you questions? Yes, idiot mode, that's what I call it. Just me though. We don't gossip about anything, we're usually quiet. And we don't sit in the same chair. Ew. I have Ginny -- I mean -- Ginny and I are --"

"Yeah I know. Ginny told me. Another one of your problems. You never tell me anything. You really need to work up on your trust for me. I would have been happy for you two. But you never tell me. Oh, no. Ickle Ronniekins can't handle the fact that his sister is going out with his ex-best friend. No, no. Ickle Ronniekins would freak. He'd go berserk. He'd tear Harry up into wittle bits if he found out his sister was going out with him. Little Ronnie is too immature to hear about something so mature as dating. Is that what you mean by never telling me about you two?"

"No. And anyway, I figured you'd all ready know. Especially because Ginny broke up with me."

"What?"

"Yeah. Said I was too much of an idiot or something, and that she didn't want to deal with me anymore. She was real nice about it, though. Something that doesn't happen often in the Weasley family, sympathy for someone out of the family."

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"Well, let's think. You never once comforted me when Cho and I broke up. You always ignored me when I was upset about anything."

"I did not," Ron said in defense of himself.

"Yeah, well... Some day we're having, eh?" Harry grinned.

"Yeah. Just what I always wanted. Be trapped in a passageway during Potions with you. How wonderful." Ron found he couldn't help but grin, either.

"Well... Wait a minute! You idiot, you lit up your wand so you could see the handle. Try unlocking the door!"

"Oh yeah! Alohomora," Ron said. The door clicked open.

"Well I don't feel much like going to Potions now," Harry said. He checked his watch. "Anyway, Potions is almost over. Um... Want to skip? We can get the homework from Hermione later."

"Yeah, alright."

"Hey -- I'm a bad partner. How's that DADA project going?"

"Finished."

"You finished it? But I didn't even do anything!"

"That's okay, Hermione copied your handwriting to make it look like you did anything. And Ginny helped with the research."

"Really? Wow, Ron, you really handled that project well. It's not due for another week!"

"Yeah. The alone time with Hermione was n -- it was weird. So quiet, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. When we were looking up the stuff about my family, if I said anything other than 'I found a book,' she'd attack me!"

Ron laughed. All of a sudden, he'd rather be alone. With Hermione.