Essence of Murtlap

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked idly as Ron slumped in an armchair opposite her.

"Detention," Ron said succinctly.

"Oh, no," Hermione moaned.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I was going to...but it's too late now...that's just great," Hermione said.

"Well, I'm glad you made that clear," Ron said.

"I was going to get some murtlap essence, but I don't know where I can find any on such short notice," Hermione told him.

"What's murtlap essence?" Ron asked.

"It's what you get when you boil murtlap tentacles," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "It alleviates the pain and swelling in surface wounds."

"Do you think Madame Pomfrey would have any?" Ron asked.

"I'm sure she would," Hermione mused. "But she wouldn't give us any unless we told her what it was for."

"And Harry doesn't want any teachers to know," Ron said. Then he smiled at Hermione. "I've got an idea."

"What is it?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"You'll see," Ron said mysteriously. "I'll be right back."

"Ron, you are so juvenile," Hermione groaned. "Just tell me."

"It's a surprise," Ron said. "Wait here."

With that, Ron rushed up the stairs of the dormitory, returning minutes later with a bundle of cloth that Hermione recognized as Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

"Are we going somewhere?" she asked.

"What gave you that idea?" Ron inquired sarcastically, shoving the Invisibility Cloak into his schoolbag. "Come on."

Hermione followed him out of the Common Room, feeling slightly confused. "Where are we going?"

Ron didn't answer, only threw the Invisibility Cloak over them. Hermione noticed again how tall her best friend had grown. He had to stoop slightly to keep from exposing their feet. Hermione moved closer in an effort to make him more comfortable.

In retrospect, Hermione supposed that she should have known it was a bad idea. Boundaries, she reminded herself as Ron stiffened. Bugger, Hermione, you did it again.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Just thought you might like a little more space."

"Which you proceeded to give by walking as close to me as humanly possible?" Ron asked skeptically.

"I figured if I used less cloak, you could stand up straighter," she told him indignantly.

Hermione consoled herself with the fact that her relationship with Ron was indeed maturing. If they could acknowledge the awkwardness between them, surely it was a step forward? Right?

"Thanks, 'Mione," Ron said, smiling down at her. Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did when he smiled that way.

"You're...er...you're welcome," Hermione stuttered, feeling a blush creep up on her cheeks. In an attempt to change the subject, she asked him a question.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked.

"I guess so," Ron said. "We're going to the kitchens."

"We stole Harry's Invisibility Cloak because you're hungry?" Hermione asked.

"No, we're going to see Dobby," Ron said. "But if the elves happen to offer me food, it would be highly impolite to refuse, wouldn't it?"

"You're impossible, Ronald Weasley," Hermione informed him. "Why are we going to see Dobby?"

"If anyone can get us murtlap essence, it'll be Dobby," Ron announced triumphantly, grinning down at her.

Hermione really couldn't help herself this time. She hugged him.

*

Ron froze, stunned, as Hermione threw her arms around him.

"You are wonderful," she whispered. "What would I do without you?"

"Panic about something, I'm sure," Ron said warmly, gaining his composure. Hermione seemed to realize what she was doing and let him go. They continued walking in silence for about five minutes, when Hermione spoke again.

"You're brilliant, you know that?" she asked him teasingly. "Why don't you get better grades?"

"Oh, shut it you," Ron said fondly, reaching out to tweak a strand of her hair. "Just because you're so clever doesn't mean all of us have to be."

"Sure it does," Hermione said. "You can't stand to be bad at anything."

"I am perfectly content with my A average," Ron said unconcernedly. "I don't have to be a redheaded Hermione to be happy."

"Because me with red hair would just be twice as awful," Hermione said, shuddering at the mental picture.

"Nah, I like your hair," Ron said, pulling it again. "Reminds me of you."

"Coarse and plain?" Hermione asked.

Ron laughed. "Determined to do what it wants, more like. Hates to be controlled. All over the place, beautiful, and completely unique."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Really? That's what you think?"

Had he really just said that? He had thought it many times, of course, but never imagined himself saying it. It sounded either corny or really great, and Ron really couldn't decide which. Hermione was smiling at him in a way that told him it was the latter.

"Er...yeah," Ron said. Oh, really smooth there, Ron thought sardonically. I should just call myself Casanova. Ahem, not that I want Hermione to think of me that way. Definitely not. No.

"Thanks, Ron," Hermione said, still smiling at him.

Ron was starting to get nervous under her gaze. Luckily, they arrived at the kitchens and saved him answering. Ron tickled the peach and pulled the portrait open. As soon as he climbed through the portrait, he was assailed by a small, squeaky-voiced house elf that attached itself to his knees.

"Wheezy!" Dobby squealed. "It is so good to be seeing you, sir. Dobby has been wanting to see you since term started." Then the elf caught sight of Hermione, and detached himself from Ron in order to get at her.

"Miss Granger!" Dobby said. "It is good to be seeing you, also. But Miss, where is Harry Potter, Miss?"

"Harry's in detention," Ron answered for her, squatting down to meet Dobby's eyes. "And we need something for him."

"Anything for Wheezy and Miss," Dobby said eagerly.

"You wouldn't happen to have any murtlap essence around, would you?" Ron asked.

"No, sir, but Dobby thinks he knows where to get some," Dobby said. "Sir and Miss will wait here, please. Dobby will return shortly."

With that, Dobby rushed out of the kitchen to Merlin knows where.

"I told you Dobby could do it," Ron said, standing back up and giving Hermione a big grin.

*

Hermione didn't think she could stand it. He smiled at her with that boyish, unrepentant grin, and she just wanted to throw her arms around him and snog him senseless.

Wait, did I just think that? Hermione thought frantically. Don't even think that, Hermione. That's forbidden territory, and you know it.

"What's the matter, Hermione?" Ron asked anxiously. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"No, I'm fine," Hermione said rather breathlessly. "I just...it's...er..."

"Glad we got that squared away," Ron said teasingly, raising his eyebrows at her. "You're okay, though? You're not going to faint away on me, are you?"

"No, I'm okay," Hermione said. "Where do you think Dobby went?"

"I have no clue," Ron said with a shrug.

"So I guess we wait," Hermione said.

"I guess so," Ron agreed. "So pull up a piece of floor and stay a while," he added, sitting down on the scrupulously clean kitchen floor. Hermione laughed and joined him.

Half an hour later, after being repeatedly asked to have some food by the house elves, Hermione was as comfortable as if she had never entertained the thought of snogging her best friend.

"So then Ginny says to me, 'Why don't you just hit that idiotic owl with a fly swatter,'" Ron told her, barely containing his laughter. "And I say to her, 'I thought you loved animals.' She says, 'I did, but that owl has driven me to insanity.'"

"Ginny said that?" Hermione said disbelievingly. "I don't believe it."

"I swear upon your copy of Hogwarts; A History," Ron proclaimed. "She said it."

"Wheezy, sir," came a high pitched voice from the other side of the kitchen, accompanied by sounds of tiny feet padding across the floor. "Dobby has your essence of murtlap, sir."

"Thanks, Dobby," Ron said, reaching out to take the bottle from him.

"Dobby regrets that he couldn't get any more of it, sir," Dobby said sadly. "Professor Umbridge has put many restrictions on the medicines, sir."

"This is fine, Dobby," Ron assured him, getting up from the floor and stuffing the bottle into his schoolbag. "Thank you. We have to go now, though."

"Yes, thanks Dobby," Hermione added. "You're a lifesaver."

Ron reached his hand out to her, and she grabbed it unthinkingly and pulled herself from the floor.

"Goodbye, sir and miss," Dobby said. "Will you come to visit Dobby again?"

"Of course," Hermione said, before Ron could make any excuses. "We'd be glad to. Both of us," she added, glancing at Ron. He just grinned cheekily at her.

"Bye, Dobby," Ron said, and began to walk towards the door. It was then Hermione realized that he still had a hold of her hand.

"Thanks again," she added, addressing the house elf over her shoulder, as she was being dragged bodily from the kitchen.

"Anytime, miss," Dobby said happily.

When they were out of the kitchen, Ron let go of her hand to dig in his bag for the Invisibility Cloak, and Hermione missed the contact. No, she told herself. Ron is your best friend. Stop this nonsense at once.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Ron threw the Invisibility Cloak over them both once more and headed off towards the seventh floor. Hermione had no choice but to follow.

*

Halfway back to the Common Room, Ron impulsively reached down and took Hermione's hand. It fit in his as perfectly as it always had, and that fact made him smile. Also making him grin was the fact that Hermione didn't pull her hand away.

Instead, she blushed rather interestingly and bit her lip, trying and failing to conceal her smile. Ron loved it when she did that. You're a fool, a little voice in his head exclaimed. This is your best friend! What do you think you're doing? Let go of her hand before it's too late.

Ron studiously ignored this little voice, and instead tried to memorize the way Hermione's hand felt in his.

"That Umbridge woman," Hermione said angrily, wrenching Ron out of his reverie. "She's put restrictions on everything."

"The filthy toad," Ron added nastily. "I can't believe she isn't letting us do magic. What's the point of Defense Against the Dark Arts if we don't get to practice defense?"

"We've got to do something," Hermione exclaimed.

"There's always poison," Ron said nonchalantly, hiding a smile.

"Ron, you know what I mean," Hermione said in exasperation.

"Got any ideas?" Ron asked. "Because I'm drawing a blank here."

"I might have one," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if Harry will go for it, though."

"Go for what?" Ron inquired.

"You'll see," Hermione said loftily.

"I hate it when you do this, Hermione," Ron informed her.

"I don't care in the slightest," Hermione said.

When they reached the portrait hole, Ron had to let go of her hand so that she could climb in. Hermione looked almost as sorrowful as he did about this, but she didn't say anything and he followed her lead.

*

Hermione bustled about, pouring the essence of murtlap into a bowl she had snagged from the kitchens while they were waiting for Dobby to return. Ron leaned against the wall, idly watching her movements.

Hermione's cheeks burned at his study, and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She was still reeling from the shock of him actually holding her hand, and she didn't want to add to that by meeting his gaze.

She pointedly ignored the warm feeling that had been coursing through her body on the way to the Common Room, walking so close to Ron with her hand in his. It had made her slightly dizzy with elation.

Footsteps from the girls' dormitory rudely interrupted her thoughts. Ginny Weasley made her way down the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyebrows raised in a distinctly snarky manner.

"Exactly where have you two been?" she asked, surveying them closely, taking in Ron's rumpled appearance (he had been walking under a cloak, after all) and Hermione's red cheeks. Hermione reckoned that she knew exactly what was going through Ginny's mind.

"The kitchens," Ron answered. "Hermione had the idea that we should get some essence of murtlap for Harry."

"Oh, has he got detention again?" Ginny asked, frowning in a way that made Hermione suspect Ron had told her all about Harry's detentions.

"Yeah," Ron said, glowering darkly.

"So you've been in the kitchens for an hour?" Ginny asked disbelievingly.

"Yes," Hermione said. "Have you any idea how hard it is to get essence of murtlap these days?"

Ginny smiled. "Whatever you say, Hermione."

"What do you think we were doing?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes. Ginny gave him a pointed look, and Hermione could tell that he had just realized exactly what she thought they'd been doing. "On second thought," he said, "I don't want to know."

"Don't worry," Ginny said flippantly. "I won't tell Harry what you two have been doing whilst he's in detention."

"No," Ron said sarcastically. "That would imply that you actually got up the nerve to talk to him."

"In case you haven't noticed," Ginny said angrily, "I have not made a fool of myself around him once this year. And you want to know why that is? Because I don't fancy him anymore."

"I believe you, Ginny," Ron said, in a tone that made it plain he didn't believe a word.

"Thanks, Ron," Ginny said, in the same tone as him. "I'm going back to bed. Behave yourselves."

"Behave ourselves?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Ginny asked. She appeared to think about this for a moment. "On second thought, that's really bad advice. Don't do anything Neville wouldn't do."

Ron and Hermione both laughed. This was definitely a step up, she thought, if they could joke like this. Especially as they just got back from traipsing around the school in the middle of the night holding hands.

"Goodnight, Ginny," Hermione said.

"Goodnight, you hooligans," Ginny replied, before ascending the stairs and disappearing into her dormitory.

"Little sisters," Ron shrugged, "what can you do? Wait a second," he added, a confused look on his face. "What did she mean by, 'that's bad advice?'"

Hermione just looked at him.

"Ginny!" he yelled. His only answer was laughter, coming from the general direction of the fourth year girls' dormitory.