Muggle Camp

Chapter 6 - Head over Heels

Standing at the door, he took a look around. It was very small. Straight ahead and against the left wall was a big wardrobe. Against the wall in line with the door was a chest of drawers and next to that, a desk. He walked past the first bed, slumped down on the second that was against the far wall and put his head in his hands. Using the heels he dug them into his eyes and released causing little stars to pop up.

What an awful day it had been; Hermione was angry at him, Malfoy had threatened to do something to her, Harry had to share a room with him and he'd nearly killed himself in the process. Poor Harry, this was going to be an awful two weeks for him. Oh well, he only had to sleep in there with him, it couldn't be that bad...could it?

As for Hermione - she may be the love of his life but God how he hated her sometimes! She was the cause and the solution of all his problems. It was so unfair. And what did Malfoy know? What had he meant by his threat? 'Granger is all mine' - what was that supposed to mean? He was so confused. How many people knew how he felt about Hermione? To his knowledge it was just him. Hermione didn't like him, she couldn't. Why should she? He was just Ron, tall gangly and uncoordinated Ron. Even she had said when they were rowing that he was just plain Ron. They were just friends, that was all it was ever going to be and he wasn't going to be the one to mess it up for them. Although he couldn't believe she had changed her appearance, he was just going to have to accept that it was Hermione's choice. She didn't belong to him, she was her own person, but he missed her anyway. Well, it was her fault that she was angry with him, not his. He had done nothing wrong. He had been the one to do right as far as he new! He had told her that she looked like an idiot, which was true and he had protected her. Stupid woman....

'Bit small in here innit?' Justin had just entered the room and was looking at the room with his nose wrinkled. 'I'd rather be at home - I have a huge room with a widescreen plasma TV with surround sound and a PS2.'

He didn't know what a PS2 was but he didn't really care either.

'Poor Harry, eh? Having to share a room with Malfoy and all. They don't like each other very much do they?'

'No. No they don't,' said Ron

'You all right? You seem a bit dazed.'

'Yeah, I'm fine. Probably just recovering from the head injury. Argh...I hate that bastard!'

'Who? Malfoy?'

'Bastard...' he repeated under his breath. 'How DARE he insult her like that. I tell you what, if he does anything to her at all I won't just nut him, I'll bloody kill him!'

'All right mate! Breathe!' said Justin looking a bit frightened and the look of utmost hatred on Ron's face. 'Who's this? Hermione? Don't worry, mate, she's only got eyes for you, she won't go near Malfoy with a ten foot pole.'

Ron's head snapped up.

'What are you talking about?' said Ron, his heart beating at a million miles an hour.

'Oh come off it, Weasley! You can't deny that you love her to pieces. It is so obvious! You couldn't make it more obvious if you tried!'

'Don't be daft! I don't know what you're talking about,' he snorted in answer but could feel his face going as red as his hair.

'Uhu...' said Justin with his eyebrows raised. 'Well, just remember, this time when you ask her to the OWL ball, make sure it's not,' he cleared his throat and put on a mock Hermione voice, 'as a last resort!' He clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes at Ron.

'WHAT? How do you...what do you....' he was lost for words. He cleared his throat and put up a calm demeanor. 'How do you know about that?'

'I'm sorry I have no idea what you're talking about....' said Justin innocently though it looked as if he was trying to hold back from laughing.

'You know what I'm talking about! The row me and Hermione had...after the Yule Ball!' Justin looked at him in mock confusion. Ron lowered his voice dangerously, 'The one you just quoted to me!'

'Oh that one!' Sorry you guys just argue so much, we just can't keep up!'

'Who's we?' said Ron looking very afraid now.

'Do you not realize how many people know that you like Hermione?'

'What are we talking about in here my friends?' Dean and Seamus had just walked in.

'Ron and Hermione!'

'Ah...our favourite topic of conversation!' said Seamus genially.

'So,' said Dean smirking, 'have you got him to admit to it yet?'

'Nah...he's stubborn. I was just trying to explain how many people know.'

'What? You mean, take everybody in the school and subtract Ron and Hermione?'

They all burst out laughing.

'Look,' said Ron, 'I have NO idea what you're going on about, but I don't like Hermione - she's my friend! You sound like a bunch of girls!'

'Nah mate! We make it masculine, we have odds on!' said Seamus.

'Yeh! We have ten-to-one you'll tell her before we the end of seventh year, five-to-one you won't and twenty-to-one you tell her before the OWL ball. Most of us have backed against you. We don't think you have the gall - sorry!' said Dean.

'You're not serious?' said Ron looking as if he had just swallowed a Filibuster Firework.

'Sure am, mate. I can pull out the books if you want!' said Dean.

'You're weirdos - all of you!' He started to leave the room.

'Don't worry! Some people have faith in you! Harry thinks you're going to tell her before the OWL ball.'

He spun round.

'Harry knows as well!' said Ron furiously.

'Harry knows...Harry knows! You mean it's true! You're admitting to it?' said Justin with wide eyes.

'ARRRGGHHHH! LEAVE ME ALONE!' And he stormed out of the room.

He was so pre-occupied with his thoughts that he walked straight into something hard fell back on the floor. Looking up, he saw Harry looking concerned.

'Are you two all right?'

*

Harry stood there with his mouth open. Two weeks with Malfoy. It was like his worst nightmare come true.

'No way Professor. I am not sharing a room with him!' From the sounds of it, Malfoy wasn't much happier than he was with the arrangements.

'No, no I think this will be good for you two. See if you can actually stay in each other's company for two seconds without beating each other up.' Hermione looked at him mournfully.

'Right off you go you two. Come on Miss Granger, let us see what this problem is.'

Harry and Malfoy just stood there with looks of complete disbelief on their faces. Then Malfoy turned around and strode off towards the bags. Harry followed resignedly. Picking up his bag, he traipsed off towards the boy's dorms. How unfair could life get? Putting him in a room with Draco Malfoy! You couldn't get worse luck than that, and he had been looking forward to this! Pah!

He reached number seven and walked in after Malfoy, pulling the door shut behind them. It seemed Malfoy had taken the bed closest to the door so he walked over and placed his bag on the other one. He started to unpack furiously. Neither of them said a word to each other. Harry pulled out his clothes and underwear and threw them on the bed in a rage. Why was he the one who always got the short straw? He pulled out his dress robes. Of course, he wouldn't have wished it on anyone else, but why did it have to be him? He pulled out his Invisibility Cloak....

'I knew it!' said Malfoy maliciously.

'Knew what?' Harry replied acidly.

'That's an invisibility cloak!'

Crap.

'So?'

'I knew you had one. Remember the mud, Potter?'

'Oh yeh! That was hilarious!' said Harry fondly.

'And it's going to be a riot when I rat you in to McGonagall.'

'You wouldn't!'

'Of course I would! If you haven't noticed, I don't like you very much Potter.'

'Go ahead then....' Harry had just spotted something poking out of Malfoy's suitcase.

'Don't worry, I will. In fact, I think I might do it right now!'

'Fine, but you might want to rat yourself in too Draco Dearest,' Harry smirked

'What are you talking about Potter?' spat Malfoy.

'Well, I don't think McGonagall will be too pleased about this....' He reached over and snatched something out of Malfoy's suit case.

Malfoy stopped dead.

'Give me that back Potter.'

'Erm...no! I don't think I will,' said Harry. He couldn't believe it. How old was Malfoy and he still kept a stuffed toy. 'So what's his name? Snuffles...Mr Schnoogly-Bear?'

'All right, listen to me!' said Malfoy dangerously. 'I don't like you, and you don't like me.'

'Too right!'

'So let me lay some ground rules. You don't touch my stuff, and I don't touch yours. We don't talk to each other. You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. Get it?'

'I think so,' said Harry coolly.

'You give me my...well you give it back and I'll give you your cloak back.'

'Sounds good to me.'

'As long as you don't use the cloak.'

'Fine.'

'Fine.' Malfoy was being very civil. I bit too civil...

He walked over to Malfoy, handed him back his teddy nbear and went to grab the cloak when Malfoy snatched it away.

'Bad luck Potter. You're just as gullible as your parents were when they thought they were going to stay alive...'

In one swift movement, Harry put his hand around Malfoy's neck, lifted him and pinned him to the door.

'Give me the cloak,' Harry said calmly.

'You're forgetting Potter,' choked Malfoy. 'I'm a Prefect.'

'You're forgetting Malfoy, that I don't care and that if you do anything to me I'll tell everyone about Mr Shnoogly-Bear.' Malfoy seemed to have thought of this.

'You listen to me Malfoy. Anymore cracks about me or my family, or my friends and their families and you will pay. You seem to forget...there are four Slytherin boys here and eleven non-Slytherins, all of whom hate you nearly as much as I do. I'd watch it if I were you, I'm the one calling the shots around here. Now give me the cloak.' He let go of Malfoy who shoved the cloak into Harry's chest. That seemed to have scared him sufficiently Harry thought happily. With that, he put the cloak back in his bag and walked out into the hall.

He saw Ron marching out of his room looking livid and walking toward the doorway of the dorms. If he didn't look up soon, he was going to walk straight into Hermione who was running his way. Wait a minute, what was Hermione doing in here?

Smack!

Harry flinched as he watched them hit each other and fall on the floor. That must have hurt. He ran over to survey the damage.

'Are you two all right?'

*

Hermione smiled to herself. This was going to be fantastic. She walked as fast as she could, wanting to tell Harry and Ron the good news. She broke into a run and slammed into something that caused her to fly backwards onto the floor.

'Are you two all right?'

'Fine,' mumbled Ron.

'Watch where you're going will you?' moaned Hermione.

Dean, Seamus and Justin had rushed out to survey the commotion.

'Oh look,' said Seamus in undertone. 'They're head over heels for each other!'

Hermione pretended not to hear.

'Well be a gentleman and help her up then Ronald!' said Dean sniggering again.

She saw him shoot Dean a look of pure loathing. He hitched himself up and put out a hand to Hermione who accepted it gratefully.

'Thank you,' she said formally.

'No problem,' said Ron blushing. 'Shouldn't wear those stupid shoes should you?'

'Yeh well...you should watch where you're going shouldn't you!' she said getting angry.

'You crashed into me too!' said Ron the pink receding out of his face to be replaced by a red hue. 'Maybe if you didn't wear your hair all over you're face you could see where you were going!'

'DON'T YOU START AGAIN! I'M NOT THE ONE WITH THE BIG FEET!'

'I'M NOT THE WANNABE TART!'

'DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME A TART! THERE'S NO NEED TO CALL ME NAMES JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE JELOUS!

'JELOUS? JELOUS? WHY WOULD I BE JELOUS?'

'JUST BECAUSE OTHER BOYS NOTICE ME RON...' she paused breathing heavily as she realised that nearly every single boy had come out of their room to watch the show.

'Oh don't mind us,' said Dean who burst out laughing. Seamus started clapping loudly and everyone else followed suit. Between the whoops and catcalls Hermione felt as thought she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Ron looked the same way although she refused to look at him. Argh! He was so impossible!

'All right, that's enough!' Professor McGonagall had just walked through the door of the boys' dorm followed by Lavender, Parvati, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and Padma Patil who were all hauling their bags along after them. The boys tried to sneak back into their rooms unnoticed, but it was no use.

'Can I have all the boys standing either side of their bedroom door?' Hermione walked down the hall towards Professor McGonagall blessing the interruption on her embarrassing predicament.

'We have a small problem concerning the girls' dormitory. Due to the ratio of boys to girls, there is not enough space to put all of the girls in one dormitory. Therefore and most unfortunately,' she took a deep breath and continued, 'I have had to put some of the girls in this dormitory.' Hermione knew she was not happy about this but the boys looked delighted at the prospect. 'HOWEVER, boys are not allowed in girls' rooms and vice versa. Girls,' she turned towards the other girls, 'you will take the last three rooms at the far end. I expect you to act in a mature manner.' Lavender and Parvati giggled causing Professor McGonagall to frown. 'And remember!' she said loudly now addressing everybody. 'Fraternisation will NOT be tolerated.' She turned and exited the dorm.

The girls started to walk down the hall of the dorm. Hermione could feel the eyes of all the boys on her; it felt like she was walking the mile. Dean broke the silence.

'Could someone PLEASE tell me what fraternisation is?'

Seamus grabbed Lavender by the waist and dipped her.

'This!' he proclaimed and snogged her on the spot. Squealing loudly she pushed him away and slapped him across the face to renewed applause. With a loud 'hmph!' she marched off towards the dorm trying to look scandalized.

Of course, Hermione could see the smile she was trying to hide, and followed with as much dignity as she could muster.