Thursday, September 8, 2005

Strange as it Seems She's The One I'm After -- Chapter Three [or whatever]

All characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the whole story written here is fiction from the Harry Potter books.

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Hermione merely took the seat that Ginny had assigned to her, smiling warmly and nervously at Mrs. Weasley and setting her cloth napkin in her lap. When the motherly woman's back was turned, Hermione shot the Weasley daughter a soft glare, followed shortly my sticking her tongue out.

Harry grinned at this, happy to take the seats that his (once) special girl had chosen for them. He was going to have fun simply watching the events unfold from their recent discovery, whether he participated in them or not.

Mrs. Weasley, meanwhile, had gone over to the stairwell and yelled, rather loudly, for the only other member of her family in the house. Charlie winced, even from where he was writing back to Romania, and came quickly bounding down the stairs. (He'd been taking a good vacation ever since Bill's wedding, and was rather enjoying the time with his family. Grim though it may be, these may be the last bits of quality time that he'd have with any number of them.)

Of the stockier variety of Weasley, Charlie was proud to be the strongest of his brothers (and father). (He couldn't be the tallest, after all.) He tended to need lots of nutrition, and therefore enjoyed dinner-time emmensly. Grinning easily, he sat down at the foot of the table, looking brightly at the younger siblings and friends. There was a pause, before he spoke to break the silence that they were letting off. "What're you lot being so quiet about?" He looked specifically at Ginny, who looked rather gleeful despite her silence. Picking up a spoon, he pointed at her with the utensil, "Especially you. Usually you don't stop talking... ever."

Ginny was about to give the older man some of her mind when she was roughly kicked under the table. With a slight wince, she gave an irritated smile to Charlie. "I was being quiet for your sake, dear brother," She teased, waving her hand airly. The girl flung her red hair over her shoulder, dramatically of course. "So, now that you have been here in silence, I can chatter on." She blinked happily and leaned on Harry, trying to find something conversational that could effect both her audiences is. Plus her mother.

"So... Anyone hear about Neville lately?" She queued up, looking back forth from her younger friends to Charlie. Surely this gossip would get a good listening to.

Ron shrugged slightly, ignored the wince his sister had given at his ruthless kick. Surely she would have spilled if he hadn't taken some kind of action. Leaning on his propped elbow, the boy twirled around his knife on the table idly, boredly listening to whatever it was Neville did these days. However he had a feeling it would somehow add up in some horrible way. The boy kept giving sideway glances at his mother and whenever it looked clear, he'd look at Hermione.

"...And so!" She went on, after having describe his taking over his families affairs with the help of his grandmother and whatnot. "He just might happen have his eyes on certian someone we might just happen to know. You guys will never guess, however." She grinned mysteriously, giving her friend and brother a meaningful look. Then, with a sort of cough as Mrs. Weasley paid more attention to them, pretended to just be skiddish and happy-go-lucky.

Charlie merely rolled his eyes in obvious disbelief of her words, choosing to tuck in now that his mother had set a good meal in front of them.

She didn't raise verbal question upon Ron kicking under the table, but shot him a questioning glare. That just wasn't nice. Ginny had already promised to keep her mouth shut.

Hermione ate politely, listening to Ginny intently and catching Ron's looks from the corner of her eye. Neville seemed to be doing alright, but it was the information that Ginny gave last that most intriqued her. Neville had taken fancy to someone? Better yet, someone that they knew?

The bushy-haired girl seemed to muse on it for a moment, fork twirling idly in her hand. "Luna Lovegood?" She asked modestly, her eyes alight with speculation. They did seem to have taken to each other in at least friendship, the only loyal members of the D.A. beside the four youngest at the dinner table.

Before Ginny answered, however, her mind had started on it's own track of thinking. "They do seem well-suited." An impish smile appeared on her face, her own embarassment long forgotten. "Both a little spacey..."

The redhead girl was in utter shock, even her mouth ventured to drop slightly. Narrowing her hazel eyes slightly at her bushy haired friend, Ginny sniffed indifferently. "How'd you guess?" Raising a red eyebrow, the girl thought for a moment. "He told you, didn't he? And here I thought it was something he confided in me!" She had that slight 'woe is me' tone and pouted moodily at the food.

Ron shook his head, chuckling slightly at how silly gossip really was. However food was there and good reason to be even more quiet than he already had became. Truthfully he was residing inside himself, trying to get all his thoughts together. It was like trying to tie down gnomes.

Harry's own eyebrows quirked. Neville and Luna? He'd never noticed anything beyond vague friendship between them, but he had to agree that they're attitudes seemed compatable. He exchanged an odd sort of 'pfft, women' look with Ron and lean back in his chair, eating politely while the girls chattered.

Hermione's eyes were suddenly brighter, and a grin split her face. "He didn't tell me," she promised her red-headed friend, "I guessed, that's all." She took a sip of chilled tea, brushing her hair back in the oddly girly manner that Ginny tended to draw from her. "They did spend an aweful lot of time together, and they seemed to find a mutual respect in being the remaining loyals to the D.A."

Then, continuing casually in a manner befitting her thoughts on Neville Longbottom, she laughed lightly. "He had taken a small fancy to me a few years ago. I don't know how to feel about being ousted by Luna." She was only speaking in jest, though, and hoped that nobody would take her words for true-heart. It was a well-known fact that, while she enjoyed the company of 'Loony' Lovegood, Hermione could only stand the daffy blonde in small doses.

Ginny smiled once more, perfectly reassured by her friend. "Yes, I guess they spent a little time writing each other for a summer or two," The girl rubbed her chin thoughtfully, leaning back in her chair carefully. "You know, I thought that you and Neville would be kind of cute together. But, Luna does seem to have that...Sort of cleverness alike with Neville's... I suppose." The redhead smiled thoughtfully over at Harry and then at everyone else as she reached for a muffin.

Ron shrugged lightly at the look Harry gave him, having nothing to be able to do about this gossipy ways of women. Instead he watched Charlie for a while, in thought about what he did momentarily. His family did seem to have interesting way of choosing jobs and they all seemed to be so important in one way or another. He then supposed what him and Hermione were offering Harry was important, somehow. But really, did the two even know how to not be loyal to their friend?

That seemed an impossible thing to do...
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