Friends Will Be Friends [Ron/Harry]

[Hermione Granger]

The soft thumping of Hermione’s footsteps echoed down the stairs of the silent Burrow, the cozy house was uncharacteristically quiet in the early morning when most of its inhabitants were sleeping peacefully in their beds. Hermione was an exception though, she was an early riser and after brushing her teeth and throwing on comfortable clothes, the bushy haired witch descended to the ground floor where she knew Mrs. Weasley would be fussing around in the kitchen, preparing a grand breakfast for everyone. Every meal was an event at the Burrow, food the one necessity the Weasley family didn’t save up on. Upon seeing the delicacies placed upon the table Hermione was always impressed with how adept Ron’s mum was at cooking, the quantity of food the sedulous woman could prepare single-handed would be envied by the hundreds of house-elves at Hogwarts. A thought crossed her mind as she set foot in the kitchen, perhaps she should suggest Dumbledore hired actual cooks instead of exploiting the poor house-elves, yes that wouldn’t technically improve their working conditions but at least a considerable amount of creatures would be set free if the Headmaster agreed.

“Good morning Mrs.Weasley” Hermione greeted the plump woman who was enchanting pots and cutlery to position themselves on the table, her approach startling the redhead for a split moment. “There you are, you had a good rest I hope. Help me set the table and add another plate, Harry arrived last night!” Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly, clearly excited to house the boy under the safety of her roof. “Did he? He didn’t write us he’d be here today!” Hermione exclaimed in surprise, a note of reproachfulness in her voice, and felt the knot in her stomach slowly loosen, she had been worried sick about Harry since they had had to split at King’s Cross station; after everything that happened at the end of the year and the death of Sirius… she was extremely concerned about the well-being of her best friend. Her heart ached for the loss he had had to endure in his life and a whole summer at the Dursley’s certainly mustn’t have helped him recover, letters could only do so much. With new-found anxiety, Hermione hastily slipped out of the kitchen past Fleur who had just turned the corner, brushing the French witch’s shoulder as she squeezed through the narrow door-way . “Pardon!” the part-veela called piqued after Hermione who was already climbing the stairs, nonplussed. “Sorry Phl—eur” she said flatly, correcting herself just in time and reaching the first landing. Ginny had always had a knack for coming up with names, first Dumbledore’s Army and now Phlegm, as she did with the first Hermione had taken to use the latter as well, the ginger-head’s aversion to her soon-to-be sister in law rather contagious. Of course the blank look in Ron’s eyes after the beauty left a room had nothing to do with it, naturally.

Reaching the door of Ron’s bedroom, Hermione knocked impatiently and when nothing but a loud snore resounded, she eased it open and peeked in. Only one of the two beds was occupied, which meant that Harry must have been assigned Fred’s and George’s old room. “Ron, wake up, Harry’s here!” she whispered loudly to the sleeping form of Ronald Weasley, who did not stir. “Come on you sleepyhead, Harry’s here, your mum just told me!” she continued, her voice raising and when no response came, she strode into the room and to the window, pulling the curtains open briskly and letting the blinding daylight in. “Ronald Weasley, if you don’t get up right this moment the first thing I will do once we are at Hogwarts and I’m allowed to do magic will be to enchant your Chudley Cannons poster so that the cannon ball will go off every hour and startle you awake until the end of the year” she placed her hands on her hips, her voice stern.


(OOC: Ahhhh my first Hermione post, hope it's fine! Lana, I assumed Ron wouldn't wake up easily but if you want me to change that I'll happily oblige! :) YAY for our first thread!)

[Ronald Weasley]

Every summer at the Burrow tended to be the same. Harry would normally spend summer there, as would Hermione (though sometimes less so than Harry- she had family to return to, after all) and they'd spend the weeks discussing what had happened the year before or what could possibly happen next year. Being at the Burrow had always been a way to escape the madness of Hogwarts, but increasingly the drama of the two was intertwining. Everything that happened at school was brought back here and discussed, not just with Harry and Hermione, but with his parents too. Each year brought new challenges and new dangers, it was only right that they all had a place to reflect on them without people attempting to listen in. Everyone at the Burrow, despite being Ron's family, was also in the Order. It was pretty much guaranteed that anything they needed to be discussed could be done so in secret here. No information would be falling into the wrong hands, even if it was annoying just how much his brothers tended to overhear.

This summer, however, seemed to be going a little differently. Harry had yet to arrive at the Burrow, and Ron had no idea if in fact he was ever going to arrive. Bill had brought Fleur to stay as his fiancée... his bloody fiancée! It should hardly have come as a surprise since they had been dating a year or so now, but Ron still couldn't believe that his brother had managed to get a girl like that. She was gorgeous! His family had seemed to take an instant dislike to her, but Ron had no reason to be hostile. It had made a nice change to have someone else about the place, and he certainly wasn't going to complain that she just happened to be very attractive. He reckoned all the girls in the house were just jealous of her, because they couldn't seriously have been against her for her personality. The boys seemed to be able to put up with her so she couldn't be too much of a troll. Of course Ron still had the memory of her turning him down in fourth year, but it wasn't like he was seriously interested in her anymore, was it? She was marrying his brother for Merlin's sake!

He knew that things were going to be different this year. After the Battle at the Department of Mysteries last year, Ron was pretty sure that You-Know-Who would be back. He seemed to find them every year somehow, but this time things were bigger. Though Ron wasn't always the most observant, he wasn't completely oblivious either. He could tell from the way his parents looked at each other whenever You-Know-Who was mentioned that they too were worried about what the year would bring. Ron knew that he was lucky though. He had his family and he had Harry and Hermione. Whatever happened they'd get through it, one way or another.

With all of this going on, and given the fact that the Burrow was a mad house even without extra guests staying, it was surprising that Ron was still able to get any sleep... Or perhaps not so surprising, given that he was Ron and sleeping was one thing that he was particularly good at. The fact that his bedroom was on the fifth floor ensured that it was a little quieter than the rest of the house, but it was by no means as quiet as one might think. It wasn't rare to find his brother's creeping around outside his room in an attempt to listen in to his conversations. Luckily they weren’t here and Ron had been planning on sleeping well into the morning, just as he always did, but he was woken by Hermione's voice.

Did she really have to be so bloody loud?! The first time she spoke Ron had scarcely noticed, her voice having softly drifted into his ear drums but not having entered his brain, but the second time he did hear her... He didn't respond, however. He had heard her say something about Harry being here and had assumed it to be a dream, and if it wasn't a dream then he reckoned Hermione had simply gone mad. Harry couldn't be here. He hadn't told anyone that he was coming, and he wouldn't just turn up, would he?

Ron rolled over in his bed, pulling his covers up over his head as if the material would drown out Hermione's voice entirely. Don't get him wrong, he enjoyed talking to Hermione, just not when he was bloody sleeping! Her threat, however, did get Ron's attention. Yep, she had definitely gone mad. He reluctantly pulled his cover back down and forced his eyes open. The light which was pouring in through the window momentarily blinded him, and he was forced to clamp his eyes shut. "Urgh, its bloody bright Hermione," he mumbled under his breath, his words scarcely audible as he buried the side of his face into his pillow.

After several seconds, he forced his eyelids open again and his gaze fell upon Hermione who had her hands on her hips. "Anyone would think you were my mum with the way you carry on," he pointed out lazily, not able to find the energy to deliver that line quite as he would have done normally. He groaned and wearily rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to sit up a little so he didn't look like quite as much of a prat (because let's face it, he didn’t want Hermione to watch him sleeping). As he did so the memory of what she had said previously came flooding back to him.

Ron slowly glanced around his room, still having to squint somewhat because of the light pouring in from the window, and attempted to see if he could make out his best mates form. There was no one there. Either Hermione was mental, or Harry had indeed arrived in the night and was sleeping in Fred and George's now empty room... Ron didn't know which was more likely. "Is Harry really here? Because if I find that you've just used that to get me up so that you can moan to me about Fleur, then I'm going back to sleep." If Harry really was here then why hadn't he told them that he was arriving?

(OOC: Urgh, this is horrible. Ron wasn't cooperating in the slightest. I will do better next time <3 And sorry it took so long too! I'm such a fail, haha.)

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[Hermione Granger]

Finally a response came, not the one she had hoped for but at least the ginger stirred, rolling over in his bed and pulling up the covers over his head, prompting Hermione to pull the curtains open and goad him into waking up fully with the promise of a charm placed upon his favourite poster. A promise, not a threat – or at least, that’s how she saw it. A simple consequence of his actions. She stood in the middle of the now illuminated room, impatiently waiting for her friend to stop moaning and follow her. A groan came from beneath the cotton shield and the covers slowly retreated, allowing the Gryffindor’s face to rise into the open, blue eyes squeezing shut in reaction to the blinding light, a complaint following suit. “It’s called daylight, Ron” she informed him in the same tone she used to lecture him about homework, catching his grumblings.

Patience was beginning to wear thin as the anxiety to see Harry grew, her hands found her hips and she stared down at Ron sternly, willing him to get up and finally catch up with their friend. Eyelids lifted at last and blue eyes squinted up at her through what for someone who had just awoken must have been blinding daylight, an half-hearted insult directed at her with the same strength of a yawn. “Good, that means you’ll listen to me and get up at least” she retorted unrelenting, knowing if there was one person everyone in the Weasley family was in awe of was Mrs.Weasley. All of her sons dreaded her wrath and her Howlers, Hermione had found out in the years that nothing like mentioning their loving mother could get them to fall in line; even Fred and George who were defiant when confronted with authority turned docile and obeyed the school rules when threatened with a letter to their mother.

Ron sat up at last, squinting at the room and taking in the vacant bed that Harry usually occupied, returning his rueful gaze to Hermione and daring to insinuate that she had lied with the purpose of awakening him to complain about Fleur, the git! Her features hardened hearing his words, her gaze sharp and her arms crossing over her chest as she felt a spark of indignation and anger ignite within her. Did he really think she would lie about Harry? Did he really think she would wake him up just to moan about Fleur? She bit her tongue, he didn’t even deserve an answer. “Go back to sleep if that’s what you think, Ronald. I’m going to see our friend” she said coldly and turned around, exiting the bedroom and moving to the stairs, her feet hitting the steps harder than necessary as she reached the landing and walked to the door of Fred’s and George’s room, knocking quietly and refusing to crane her neck to check whether Ron had followed.

(OOC: hope it's alright, figured we needed to get the thread moving so that Harry can be awoken too :P And you're not a fail, Lana! The post was perfect! I figure one more post from you having Ron pounce on Harry and Nugget can join in the fun xD)

[Ronald Weasley]

Sometimes Hermione thought she was so clever. It's called daylight, Ron. He wanted to come up with some witty remark in response, or just point out that he didn't appreciate her lecturing him this early in the morning, but he didn't have the energy to do anything but lie there and hope that he was dreaming. It felt so early.. Not that he had any bloody idea what the actual time was, of course. He just rolled his eyes at her, still too tired to fully understand what she was talking about. He hadn't been listening all that much, in all honesty. He just wanted to sleep without being disturbed. Was that really so much to ask?!

The truth was, Ron was petrified of his mum. Naturally he loved her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't bloody terrified of her at the same time. It was the same for Hermione, he supposed, minus the love part of course... He shook that thought away, deeming it too early to strain his brain. "Urgh, whatever Hermione," he dismissed, not particularly wanting to have to delve into an argument with Hermione this early in the morning (even if part of him felt like he would be justified to do so- she did just wake him up.) Knowing that she'd likely be off with him all day if he didn't do what she said, and knowing that he really didn't like Hermione's temper, he decided that it would probably be best to just oblige.

He glanced around the room looking for Harry, and when he failed to find him he turned back to Hermione to make some remark about Fleur... Of course that didn't go down well. Before he could say anything in reply to her, she had turned around and was out the door. Swinging his legs out of bed, he headed out the door after her. Now that he was a little more awake he was beginning to realise how much of a git he had acted. Why would she lie about Harry? And if Harry was here then of course Ron wanted to see him!

By the time he had caught up with her she was knocking on the door to Fred and George's room. "You really think that's going to get him up?!" That was barely a knock at all! Ron knew that he'd never wake up if she knocked on his door like that. He furrowed his brows at Hermione as if to say 'you really don't know anything about blokes.' Before waiting for her response, he burst open the door and found that Harry was indeed here. "We didn't know you were here already!" He clapped his best mate playfully over the head as if to say 'thanks for not letting us know you were coming', and partly because he hoped that it would wake Harry up a bit more. Of course it scarcely even dawned on Ron that he had nearly bit Hermione's head off for doing a very similar thing to him. Ron wanted to know everything that Harry had been up to, and why he had appeared in the night without telling anyone that he was arriving.

(OOC: Cue Nugget! xD)

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[Harry Potter]

What a wild and weird night, kicking off with having Dumbledore create one of the most awkward moments inside of the Dursely's home (which is saying plenty for their disgustingly awkward household). Then it took the turn of Harry's introduction to one of the quirky, and by far most oddly innocent (at face value) people that Dumbledore had ever introduced him to. He wasn't a fool at all to what someone like Horace Slughorn was up to, but to his surprise he was asked by his headmaster and mentor to allow himself to be collected and gain trust. It felt like it was something wrong to do at first; Harry rationalized that Dumbledore would never instruct him to do something like tricking or forcing someone to give up something they don't desire to. Even so, it would have to be for the greater good.

That night turned from his curiousness right after speaking with Dumbledore prior to heading into the Burrow. Harry was surprised to find the most unsuspected of guests, other than himself, inside. The form of Nymphadora Tonks without her usually chirpy attitude and her hair left dull and mousy. He couldn't really gather what could've brought such a dramatic change to her, but as soon as he arrived she was prompt to exit after giving her most polite excuses, her voice couldn't mask that something bothered her. After her and Dumbledore left, Molly Weasley went to examining Harry's growth over the summer. He had gotten a good amount taller. Knowing Ron's habits every summer he likely shot up another inch or twenty. While over his usual welcoming meal from Molly he heard of Arthur's promotion as well as why she had been staying up, waiting for him to return home. It make Harry's heart sink to acknowledge that the worry was so...real, anything could happen. Last year he was attacked, it wasn't that bizarre to think that he would be harmed...after all his family was close with a lot of connections as well as Order members.

When Arthur returned home and they exchanged questions Harry almost choked up on his water hearing the name "Mollywobbles" he was sent to bed, going to the twin's old room which was prepared for him and his stay. Inside, amongst the smells that could've been only concocted by Fred and George's old experiments, he saw that his trunk was there just as promised. Upon the desk next to it was a happily hooting Hedwig. Obviously she was excited that someone let her out of the prison for a while, they truly did share that at Privet Drive, they were caged every summer. But she'd be allowed to fly freely this time around and it was near the end of July, she had plenty of time to do as she liked including the school year before the next summer came around. He showered, changed, and got prepared for bed, giving his teeth a brush before climbing into the bed and going fast to sleep. His mind didn't even get to play over the events of the night nor of the past, finding himself in a long overdue peaceful sleep that set him at true ease.

BANG! Open flew the door sounding like someone fired off a cannon, causing Harry to automatically awaken in a shout of "Wuzzgoinon?!" before he could make any move Ron was already in, or rather the blob that he supposed was Ron from the little bit of red he could see. Before he could say another word he had already taken an awakening blow to the head. It would've helped if the blow corrected his eyesight magically, alas he was just momentarily dazed instead. He reached over and picked up his glasses fitting them to his face as the two came into focus, he could feel the corners of his mouth turning upward into a small smile, delighted to see them after not seeing them since parting at the end of the year before. He did miss seeing Ron, or more hearing him because you always did that first, nor trying to convince Hermione he was alright. He shifted being politely quiet for a moment before speaking up. "Good Morning"

(OOC: xD sorry it's short and late)

[Hermione Granger]

Managing to drag Ron out of his beloved bed was proving to be quite a feat, Hermione realized with a touch of exasperation as the boy lay on the mattress under the weight of drowsiness, using the little energy he had mustered to squint in the bright daylight and roll his eyes at her. How very mature. She stood in the center of the room while her patience escaped rapidly with every moment she was forced to wait, Ron’s comment about how similar to Mrs.Weasley she was right that moment not completely off the target. The scene was a parody, Hermione playing the stern, unrelenting mother and Ron the little boy who didn’t want to get up; she wouldn't have been surprised if he had mumbled 'just another five minutes', rolled on his side and gone right back to sleep. It was unacceptable, he was sixteen, nearly an adult in the wizarding world and yet he had the maturity of a child hiding under the covers as if that will stop time and distance the moment he’d have to leave their warmth to go to school. The main difference was that it wasn’t school waiting upstairs, it was Harry. The friend they had been worried about, the friend who carried the weight of life and death upon his shoulders and needed them to support him, to carry some of it for him and share the burden. How could Ron even think she would ever lie about Harry? Use him as an excuse to moan about Fleur, of all people! Such a low accusation, she had to bite her tongue not to snap back at him even though he deserved it, she felt that even acknowledging the insinuation would be giving it credit and she refused to address such an offensive jab. Her mouth flattened into a thin line, she walked off and up the staircase, the indignation slightly fading as the anxiety to see Harry grew as she neared the door, pausing in front of it and knocking politely before Ron arrived in a huff, shooting her a look and rudely questioning her method.

“Manners. Just because you sleep like a warthog and snore like one doesn’t mean everyon--” she was cut off before she could finish, Ron bursting through the door and in the excitement of the moment slapping Harry across the head enthusiastically, doubtlessly startling him and alarming him, as if he needed any more reasons to be on edge! “Ron, don’t hit him!” she reproached, striding into the bedroom and shooting the ginger a scolding look before directing her gaze to the raven-haired boy she hadn’t seen for over a month. A month that must have been excruciating, spent alone with a family that doesn’t deserve to be defined as such and mourning the loss of the one who despite not sharing the same blood was more of a relative than the Dursleys will ever be. It was cruelly ironic, and unjustly tragic. The deep concern was concealed behind the brown eyes intent on methodically scrutinizing the Gryffindor, searching for signs of misery, distress and sickness, gauging and assessing his appearance scrupulously. Was he thinner? Her brow furrowed, she couldn’t tell while he was sitting with the sheets covering most of him; his hair was as unruly as ever but his face did look more hollowed than usual, or was that the light? “Good morning” Hermione greeted after a moment while Harry reached for his glasses, perching on the edge of the bed and remaining silent, completely absorbed in the examination; the dark orbs eyed Harry, part of her half-dreading and half-expected him to lose it like he had exactly an year before at Grimmauld Place. She wouldn’t blame him if he did.


(OOC: I'm not sure this post is decent, I'm too tired to figure that out but I wanted to get something up! Sorry if it sucks, also I figured we're following the outline of the scene in the book, that's why I didn't go ahead and have Hermione voice out loud her concerns... yet :P If you want me to edit it, just let me know! On a second thought... no if's, it does suck. )

[Ronald Weasley]

Hermione's lecture about how he apparently slept like a warthog only made him want to get into the room to see Harry even quicker. She was his friend, but that didn't mean that he wanted to be insulted by her! Sometimes Ron wondered why she was so keen on poking fun of his sleeping habits, or his food habits... or anything really. It was for this precise reason that he cut her off, bursting into Fred and George's room before she could start going off on another rant. He also wanted to see Harry, of course. He was like a brother to Ron, and he wouldn't have missed the opportunity to see him for anything. He might have been reluctant to get out of bed, but how could he possibly have known that Harry was actually here? Anyway, no one could expect him to think straight when he had just been rather rudely woken up.

He forced the door open, causing it to smash against the wall and make a rather loud 'BANG' which Ron hadn't intended. Apparently he had successfully managed to wake Harry up though, since his best mate had quickly asked them what was going on. Of course Ron didn't register this in time to stop himself from whacking his best mate over the head, and so proceeded to do it anyway. Hermione, being Hermione, was quick to scold him for it. Yet again he mentally compared her to his mother, but this time he managed to restrain from verbally pointing this out to her. He had argued with her enough this morning, and he just wanted to talk to Harry right now. He had definitely missed having him around. Ever since their second year Harry had been spending parts of his Summer at the Burrow. It wouldn't have been right if he hadn't visited this year, and Ron had been worried that with everything that had happened last year he might not have been arriving at all.

Ron's two best mates exchanged 'good mornings' and he waved his hand dismissively after Hermione had spoken. "Yeah yeah, enough of that!" They weren't seriously going to go into one of those conversations, were they? It was obvious that they had other things that needed to be discussed... Like why the hell Harry had appeared out of nowhere, for example. Don't get him wrong, he was extremely happy that Harry was here right now but it just seemed a little strange that he hadn't told anyone about it before hand. Then again, Ron had turned up at Harry's place in their second year without warning... and had then proceeded to break him out of his own bedroom using a magical flying car. Maybe this whole situation really wasn't as strange as Ron had first thought. This was Harry. The Burrow was pretty much his second home anyway, so why shouldn't he pop in whenever he wanted?

"When did you get here? You could have bloody well told us you were coming! I might have been slightly more prepared for having to get up at this time if you had." He still had no idea what time it was, but seeing as he hadn't woken up naturally he deemed it too early. He didn't mind too much now that he was up and could finally talk to Harry. At the time, however, he had been less than happy about having Hermione scream at him while he had been in the middle of sleeping. He grinned down at his friend, just so he knew that Ron was no longer bothered about losing sleep since seeing Harry made up for that, and pulled up a box to sit on. It creaked a little and he quickly glanced down to check that it didn't look like it was about to collapse anytime soon, before turning back to his mate.

(OOC: I went slightly off the book dialogue so that it's more fun for us, but it's still heading in the same direction. Hope it's okay!)

[Harry Potter]

Harry could already deduct for the tone that Hermione was displaying things were going as usual for them. Unattended but still obvious amounts of romantic tension excused and expressed through arguments. He was always wondering about the two of them, for the most part ever since the Yule Ball where not only did Hermione suddenly look like a girl sort of girl but Ron was...different as well. He was used to them arguing over tiny things that really just led to Harry having to remain quiet and wait until they got tired or bored or one stormed off. There was jealousy that time, so much that anyone who caught a glimpse of Ron saw him staring at Hermione and Krum. Then for Hermione to look so confused for once, Harry had never seen her look like words were beyond her as much as that night. It was bizarre really, but it did help him keep him mind from thinking too much about Cho and Cedric.

His smile became more full watching the banter go on. He was positive he had caught the end of another one of their famous rows, judging from the fact it was morning it must've been getting Ron up for the day. Part of the happiness came from the fact that as long as she had some attention on Ron, Hermione might not notice his condition, especially the way he was sitting up in bed. She hadn't said anything, for that he was the most faithful. This was the place he wanted to be, to get away to somewhere that he was liked and not judged by other things. This summer felt different for once, there was always so much uncertainty with the others but this one felt like he could kick back and be normal. He'd keep those worries and doubts on his mind as always. Why not add on something enjoyable in that mix? He had five years of wondering what each year would throw at him, hopefully he could just get on the Hogwarts Express, go to school, and be a regular student...then there was the headlines, Slughorn business, and seeing Cho again. At least one of the problems was a typical one for a teenager.

Harry rubbed the place of impact, one eye winced a little while looking toward Ron, still wearing an amused expression. "Sorry, can't remember anymore, I've recently had the memory knocked out of me..." he joked and shifted to a more upright position giving them both equal looks before actually explaining. "I hadn't any idea I was coming either, not that I'd particularly prefer staying with my aunt and uncle, I got here last night" He nodded after speaking before thinking he had let over a month pass and hadn't seen his best mate's expression when embarrassed in that long. He needed some entertainment so he gave it a go. "Tonks was over but left, so I just had a small meal with...Mollywobbles and your dad" while making the joke he moved the sheets more onto him to hide more from Hermione's examination.

[Hermione Granger]

Before she could even finish uttering her last jab, Ron cut her off rudely and burst into Fred and George’s old room, the door swinging open with a loud BANG that startled Harry into awareness, and if that wasn’t enough Ron’s rather warm welcome consisted of a well-assessed blow to the head. Hermione was baffled by the ginger’s lack of discretion and understanding, Harry had been through a lot that summer, he didn’t need to be startled and hit! She shook her head ever so imperceptibly, and after submitting Harry to the scrutiny of her eyes, she sat down on the edge of the bed, offering a tentative good morning, still in the process of gauging their friend’s appearance. Of course Ron couldn’t let that ordinary exchange go on, he waved his hand and dismissed her words, earning a look from Hermione. How could he act so carefree? Wasn’t he worried? Then again, maybe for once he had a point. She didn’t mean to make Harry uncomfortable and he certainly didn’t want his friends to be walking on eggshells when around him. He just needed them to be their normal selves and currently, Hermione was being her normally concerned self.

“It’s not that early, Ron. It’s already half past eight” she pointed out in slight exasperation as Ron moaned once again about the fact that he had had to get up. He could be such a lazy prat when he wanted to. Harry’s joke about having his memory knocked out of him made Hermione shoot the ginger another look while biting her tongue to keep from speaking her mind on the matter again; Harry was here, and he was the most important thing in the world right that moment. She listened to his words, her brow furrowing. “How did you get here? I thought the Order might send someone to collect you but I had hoped they would have at least let you know this year” she inquired. “Of course there would have been the risk of interception” she reasoned out loud, turning her gaze to boxes that took up most of the room before returning it to Harry, the examination not over yet.

Her eyes searched him, looking for and afraid to find the signs she expected to see, she was so absorbed in the examination that Harry’s words almost went unnoticed, almost. Hermione was paying attention to anything he said as well, deeming that another possible give away sign could come in the form of words. Her eyebrows quirked quizzically at the Mollywobbles part, a small smile creeping upon her features – a smile that she tried to hide, inclining her head downwards to conceal it. A part of her wanted to tell Harry that it wasn’t polite to tease Ron by making fun of his mother, the woman who was so kindly giving him hospitality but hearing that playfulness in Harry’s voice was the reassurance she needed. He would be alright, he might not be right now but he would be. Seeing Harry gather the sheets to cover more of himself and shield his form from the scrutiny of her eyes awoke her with a sharp pang of guilt. Here she was analyzing him and making him uncomfortable instead of acting like the friend he needed. She quickly averted her eyes ashamed of her behavior, gaze darting to the boxes again before she pulled herself together and offered Harry a bright smile. “We missed you” she said warmly and patted his foot through the covers.

OOC: So this may suck, I have no idea, haha. I'm so scatterbrained I have almost no idea what I wrote! I'm sorry about holding up the thread, guys. I'll catch up when I get back!

[Ronald Weasley]

The look that Hermione shot him didn't go unnoticed, but he pretended to ignore it simply because he knew that they'd end up arguing if he didn't. Harry knew just as well as Ron did that Hermione was as stubborn as anything, and so Ron didn't feel the need to demonstrate just how much she was by allowing a full blown argument to escalate between the two of them. Ron reckoned that his best mate wouldn't appreciate that this time in the morning. He hadn't dismissed their good mornings because he didn't care, in fact it was quite the opposite. He knew Harry, and he knew that he probably wouldn't appreciate them both fussing over him like Ron knew Hermione would. He considered it safer to stop all that before it even had chance to start. Hermione would thank him for it later.

It was nice to hear Harry joking still. At least Ron didn't have to worry that he was too depressed and that they could still have a laugh if they wanted. While he loved his best mate, he knew that he wouldn't be able to spend the rest of the summer walking on eggshells around him. He was suffering, and Ron knew that, but it would be nice to have a normal conversation with him every now and then. Of course Ron would be there whenever he needed to talk about everything that had happened, but until then he was content with simply joking around with his best mate.

"Yeah, sorry about that..." He sensed that he probably should apologise for whacking Harry around the head. Ron knew that he wouldn't appreciate someone waking him up in that way, but he had just done it before he could think about it. It was rare for Ron to stop and think about what he was doing; that was Hermione's domain and he definitely wasn't going to be entering it anytime soon. Despite the fact that he had tried to make his apology sound genuine- because it was, despite what anyone else thought- he couldn't help but chuckle a little at Harry's amused expression. Hermione cold lecture him all she liked, but right there was the evidence that his actions, however rude they might have seemed, had actually given their best mate something to smile about. Ron Weasley 1, Hermione Granger 0.

Half past eight?! That was early in Ron's book. "Not early for you because you don't need to sleep like we do, right Harry?" He didn't even know why he was bothering to argue because that was not the reason they were here. He eventually shook his head dismissively, turning to listen to Harry as he attempted to explain what he was doing at the Burrow. Before Ron could reply Hermione asked him how he had got here, and he flicked his gaze to her before turning it back to Harry, awaiting his response.

Harry's joke caused Ron to flinch and he inwardly cringed at the 'Mollywobbles' reference. He knew that Harry was probably trying to wind him up, but he didn't appreciate it all that much. He narrowed his eyes, turning to look at Hermione once more to see her smirking. He eventually sighed, his expression relaxing though the red blush in his cheeks remained. "Ha ha, very funny," he replied sarcastically, though he couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. He did enjoy having normal conversations like this with them both. He missed it when they weren't at the Burrow.

Hermione stated that she had missed Harry, and Ron nodded in agreement. "It's good to have you here, mate. I'm telling you now, the girls have gone insane! We need as much support as we can get," he informed Harry with a grin. Upon realising that Hermione was still in the room, Ron turned his gaze to her. "No offense Hermione." He hadn't been targeting her in particular- though she had been acting weirdly too- but more all the girls in the household. Fleur was not welcomed by the female population of the Burrow, which had somehow created a divide between the them and the blokes who happened to like her. Ron couldn't understand it, quite honestly, but he was pleased to have Harry here. Yes, Hermione was his best mate too, but he reckoned Harry understood him more sometimes. There were things he could talk to Harry about that he wouldn't dare mention to Hermione.

(OOC: Sorry this took so long! It's not even worth the wait. *fail* :/ )

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[Harry Potter]

While so many things stayed the same even more changed. For the most part it was outward as well as little things. Such as Ron never losing comically honest nature all the while keeping his fears; now those fears gave him drive to succeed. Seeing that was an inspiration in itself. Then Hermione's old ways of being a know-it-all hadn't necessarily died, but they were applied to more gain than to express intelligence and superiority. Harry himself knew he changed, it was almost every year he had a different approach to life. With that came a guilt in feeling his friends always had to deal with something different all the time. From shy to victimized, then demanding answers to questions much too hard to answer. To follow those up with being afraid for his life then being angry at the world he sounded like multiple cases or some sort of crazed person. He had to adapt, but this year he didn't have to change, he could smile and not have to think about things all of the time. In a way, as morbid as it seemed, Sirius was finally free. No matter what they could've done he never would've found freedom again; now his name is cleared and the truth was outed.

Harry was steadily meeting the point in his life, which was moving so fast, where he understood mortality as a line that had to be crossed by all. Harry understood death could take away plenty but can never take away what made you fond of the person. Although he could never imagine losing anyone else, he was wiser now. He learned from the hardheaded mistake and understood that it truly was his fault. If only he remembered the mirror..."Oh it's fine Ron, if it's any consolation that was the nicest wake up I've had all summer"

"Half passed eight is it?" At Ron's inclusion of Harry on the opinion of the earliness of the hour he took the opportunity to suddenly notice how interesting the ceiling was. He wouldn't be caught dead picking a side on this one! Harry turned his attention to Hermione at her words and went about addressing her after contemplating how to say things. He of course was allowed to discuss things with these two to help him deal with things. It wasn't as if they wouldn't be finding out about it anyway in a few. So, he went into explaining, as a lead in, how things went at the Dursley's with Dumbledore's arrival giving away who his escort was. Afterward he continued on, "Side-Along apparating isn't...um...pleasant...anyway, Dumbledore introduced me to this old teacher who we persuaded to come back" he nodded after speaking "Horace Slughorn, does that sound familiar to either of you?" His eyes scanned to each of them in wonder if they had intel, from Ron's pureblood history knowledge or something that Hermione read.

"Hmm...it's better than Aunt Petunia's names for Uncle Vernon at least..." he muttered, inwardly cringing at the thought of them making googly eyes at one another while ordering him to make them toast. He never wanted to know what they did with that toast, he always darted right back to his 'room' when they got that way. Harry could feel his smile growing hearing that, especially with how last year went as far as their friendship and how estranged it was. He felt heavy amounts of guilt for it and still felt he couldn't be forgiven for being as angry as he was. "I missed you all too"

Harry's eyebrows shot up as he fought the burst of laughter begging to rise at Ron's words. He was the only male in the house when his father was working after all, between Hermione nagging his ear off, his mother scolding him, and his sister telling him off he must've had quite the summer. He'd have counted Fleur being...Fleur, however he still hadn't a clue she was around. "We're still at a disadvantage, we can still give them hell though" Harry added to make it sound like it truly was war. As far as he was concerned they'd be down one from time to time and Arthur Weasley always caved when Molly gave him the 'look'. It'd be hard to believe that he would side with them in this war though, they did lose his car and almost his job a few times.

OOC: You guys are fine! Your posts are awesome :) I'm really stoked to be back and into it again!

[Hermione Granger]

There he was, the boy who moaned endlessly for being awoken ‘rudely’, whacking Harry around the head as his own very personal form of greeting. How hypocritical, only five minutes before he had had the guts to snap at Hermione for doing the very same thing, only in a nicer fashion! She made a mental note to be sure to adopt the Weasley technique the next time she had the misfortune of waking him up. After all, she had mastered the art of whacking Ron around the head with books or even rolls of parchment, it had been a while since she had had an opportunity to practice it. “It must have been an extremely rough summer at the Dursley’s if you find Ron’s welcome nice” Hermione pointed out, an indirect jab at Ron’s manners, or lack thereof, and a forced lighthearted comment at the same time, realising that voicing the pang of sympathy and outrage for how Harry had been treated, or mistreated to be more precise, would be of no help. Harry would want to forget all about the summer and enjoy the time at the Burrow, in the magical world where he belonged.

Both boys seemed surprised to hear the hour, as if they had never gathered that there was a defined lapse of time before 9 am even during summer. “You must mean because I don’t need to sleep in like you do” she retorted, stubborn gaze flicking from Ron to find Harry observing the ceiling with sudden fascination and interest. With a scoff, she sat more comfortably on the bed and told herself to let it go and focus on Harry, who was now telling the story of how he had got there. “So I’ve read; it takes practice and focus, like anything else. I can’t wait until Apparition lessons start” she commented, a note of excitement coloring her tone, brow furrowing mere moments later as she tried to place the name Slughorn. “I may have heard of him, I’m rather sure his name is on a few plates in the Trophy Room. We knew we’d need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, it’s quite odd that Dumbledore decided to bring you along to recruit him though. What is he like?” she inquired curiously, still skimming through the names she had memorized in the years and looking for a match that would fit the role.

The partly concealed smirk turned into a wrinkle of her nose as Harry spoke of his guardian’s nicknames for each other. Nicknames were something Hermione had never appreciated and therefore had never indulged into the habit of using them. They could be highly embarrassing and on occasion even disgusting. Grawp was the only… creature allowed to call her Hermy, seeing how he couldn’t pronounce her whole name; others often called her ‘Mione but to her that was more of a short form than a nickname. It held no endearment or inside joke, it was practical for those who were too lazy to utter eight letters in a row. Like the boy sitting on a box in front of her, for instance.

Her words were rewarded with a smile that warmed her heart and she patted Harry’s foot before placing her hands back onto her lap. Of course the moment couldn’t last, Ron had to interject and remind her of an additional presence in the House and ignite the spark of her annoyance once more. “We haven’t gone insane, you’ve simply gone blind!” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Paradoxically the boy’s eyes were the only alert part of his person in the presence of the French part-Veela but he, as any other male visiting the Burrow, was completely blind to her snobbish and snooty manners, leaving Hermione, Ginny and even Mrs.Weasley exasperated and - admittedly in Hermione’s case - slightly bitter.

OOC: SORRY for the delay and for the poor quality of this reply. Also, I noticed I slightly messed up in my last post in this thread -_-. Lastly, your posts are amazing! xD And Nugget, your OOCnotes reminded me unpleasantly of something (it's easy to figure out, take a trip down memory lane) so they actually made things worse :P