Thanks to my Betas Leanna Sanders and Gwendolyn Stanbury. You guys are awesome! Thanks!
Chapter Two
Where is he? Hermione muttered to herself. She knew Ron would not be in the Owlery, but had decided it would be the best place to see the school grounds. Leaning over the windowsill, she could see right across the green grounds.
Hermione leaned to the right side of the always-open window. The towering Quidditch hoops were shining magnificently in the sunlight, but she could not see anyone flying at the moment.
She quickly glanced towards the shimmering blue lake. The giant squid seemed to be the only one swimming in the depths, but the banks of the oblong-shaped lake were scattered with first and second years not yet able to go to Hogsmeade. Not one ginger-haired boy or girl sat there though Hermione noticed.
She turned with suspicion as her attention was drawn towards a flock of birds that had suddenly taken flight from the treetops in the forest. Must be Grawp. Hermione said to herself, shaking her head and laughing a little at the notion of the giant's crooked smile and loud calls for Hagrid. She stood there for a moment longer, obviously entranced by the broken trees and thunderous noises. A tawny owl flew erratically inside the tower and narrowly escaped getting caught in Hermione's bushy hair. She snapped out of her trance at the sudden movement and shook her head to get her mind back on track.
Ok, if I’m Ron, where would I be? She paced back and forth for some time dodging owls coming home after delivering their packages and letters. Suddenly, she stopped with a halt.
Oh! Eating! Hermione's eyes blazed brilliantly as she took off running wildly through the Owlery, slipping and sliding on the straw and owl droppings littering the floor.
Down staircases she flew, jumping over the trick step and running with speed down a lantern-lit passageway.
A portrait of a bowl of fruit was now in sight. Hermione tickled the pear, breathing heavily from sprinting so far. She recalled her first adventure into Hogwarts’ kitchen when the door creaked open, revealing a spotlessly clean kitchen scattered with House elves scrubbing and mopping.
“Argh! Look at all these enslaved House elves!” Hermione muttered to herself shaking her head with disbelief. ”I really need to get more people involved in S.P.E.W.” She quickly made a mental note before eleven House elves stopped what they were cleaning and bounded up to her. They asked Hermione happily what they could do for her as she became aware of Dobby pushing his way through the toga-covered creatures.
“Miss! What is you doing here Miss? Where is Harry Potter?” Dobby questioned peering around Hermione's knees, presumably to see if Harry had come too.
"Listen Dobby, I can't talk now, do you know where Ron is?" She looked searchingly into Dobby's eyes then around the room.
“Mr. Wheezy is over their Miss, by the fireplace.” Dobby exclaimed, pointing his jagged finger in Ron's direction.
Ron sat on a small wooden stool next to a roaring fireplace, food and drink resting upon a crowded table next to the brick wall. Hermione followed Dobby's finger to the location of the grubby boy, familiar because he was stuffing his face with handfuls of pasties and tart.
“Oh! Thanks, Dobby!”
Hermione hastily made her way through the crowded kitchen and to the corner containing Ron.
"Ron!" Hermione spoke harshly at the disoriented boy. He quickly broke away from filling his mouth to stare absent-mindedly at Hermione.
"What do you want, Hermione?" Ron mumbled through a piece of cake.
"What I want is a reason,” she explained coolly sitting down on an uncomfortably wobbly stool. Ron questioned her, looking avidly on her face for some explanation. "I want to know why you weren’t at breakfast this morning to talk to Harry."
Ron looked away from her wanting eyes. He hesitantly placed his cake on the table and started playing with his blue jeans. "I...I ate earlier" he stammered.
That's not an answer to my question! reflected Hermione to herself.
"D'you remember what we talked about last night? About how you need to confront Harry and explain what made you talk about Sirius? Just tell Harry the truth, he’ll understand. It’s not like we haven’t had rows before!"
Ron looked up at Hermione, suddenly understanding.
“Oh, wow.” Hermione muttered beneath her breath. His icy blue eyes were somehow beautifully caught in the rhythm of the dancing flames in the stone fireplace. Hermione knew he understood and yet she was still so entranced by his eyes that the unbalanced stool underneath her gave way to the motion of her body. She tipped forward, flailing her limbs to catch herself before she hit the stony floor. Everything went black for a second before Hermione realized what had happened. She looked up and found those icy blue eyes that she had fallen for, literally. They looked worried.
“Are you okay? Just sit for a second to catch your breath.”
Hermione tried to stand up, but found two masculine arms pulling her back down to sit in between two legs fit with blue jeans. The look on her face must have changed to one of frightened surprise, for Ron's face also changed to a worried expression. Pots and pans fell to the floor from a clumsy House elf; Hermione jumped to her feet with alarm.
"We're late for class!" she exclaimed in a horrified fashion to Ron, who was still sitting on the floor. He gave her a bewildered look with those wonderful, icy blue eyes as she raced through the portrait kitchen door.
A/N: Please review. I could use some constructive criticism on my fan fic. And sorry it took so long. He he he….evil cackle.