Textbooks(OPEN)

[mione]

Hermione Granger was making her way to Diagon Alley on this somewhat lovely morning. Actually it had started off quite terrible like most of her mornings had been. She knew just the place to go to make her feel more relax especially with Voldemort threatening the world with his every move. Times were were getting darker by the minute and soon she might not be able to even show her face in public just for being a muggleborn and Harry Potter's best friend. Everyone knew that she was his best friend along with Ron Weasley. Now that was a boy that just didn't stay out of her mind. He seemed to haunt her dreams at night and during school when she was trying to concentrate. Sometimes she hated him so much for that.

She entered into Flourish & Blotts, knowing that she needed to buy her textbooks too. She would be a few other books for light reading as she considered. She knew Ron would only think of her as a bigger bookwork but what did he know. He had the emotional range of a teaspoon as she so well put it in her fifth year. That was the perfect way to describe her best friend, Ron Weasley. Then why did she always have to think of him? She knew what Ginny's answer would be and she didn't like it, not one bit. But then how could she explain what she did about that whole Ron/Lavendar situation? She couldn't really, well not if someone asked her, but she knew the truth. She was jealous. Yes, Hermione Granger was jealous of someone.

She sighed, looking around the store. She would look around first before she started to buy anything. She wasn't in no hurry really for she made no plans with Ron or Harry to meet them anywhere since she hadn't owled them yet to find out when they would be going to Diagon Alley. Part of her wished that one of them would suddenly show up but she honestly doubt that they would come in here. Only if they were forced and that would have to be by her. But since she didn't know where they were, she couldn't really force them into a shop, could she?

[ronweasley]

Maybe he'd been temporarily possessed. Yes, that was a likely excuse, thought Ron bitterly as he glanced around the brightly-lit shop. Ginny was the only one who'd actually felt the experience of being controlled, and for the first time in his life, he was slightly jealous of the fact. Because she couldn't control her actions, she couldn't be blamed, and nothing that had happened was considered to be her fault. Yes, Ron Weasley wanted to be possessed, for atleast if he had been, it could serve as some sort of explanation.

For he'd left the Burrow at 6 in the morning, a feat in and of itself, as he liked to think that there was really only one 6 o'clock in a day during the summer. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, he'd written a note to his mum explaining where he was off to, taped it to the bloody clock she always carried around (he liked to do his best to avoid it, as it always seemed to have his hand pointed to 'Mortal Peril', something he didn't like to think about if he could help it), and then flooed himself off to Diagon Alley with Harry.

Only now, the boy was nowhere to be seen, and Ron was left alone, with large groups of people passing him on either side, looking fearful and hurried. Just the looks on their faces caused a panic to rise in himself-- they had to be afraid of something, and he was the perfect target of the mystery monster, walking around on his own like a right idiot-- and he'd ducked into the nearest store, which happened to be the book shop. Only, low and behold, the Boy-Who-Lived was still missing, and Ron was left wondering just how he was going to explain leaving for Diagon Alley in the early morning without waiting for his parents. Truth be told, it was likely because she seemed to always be nagging and hurried when she left the house, and he couldn't be fussed this year-- he was 17, and surely old enough to decide which type of robes he wanted, right? But, he couldn't tell her that.

'Women', Ron thought with more than a hint of annoyance as he searched the shelves, oblivious to the world around him, deciding that he might as well search for his new school books while he was here. 'Are too emotional for their own good. Insist they want the truth, but yell as soon as you give it to them.'

[mione]

Hermione had already picked out two 'lightreading' books for the schoolyear and had just started to look for her own textbooks. She didn't know what she would do after this but she knew that she did need more potion ingredients and few other supplies like quill, parchment, and that sort of stuff. Maybe she would stop by the ice cream parlour to buy some ice cream for a quick break. That sounded good and much better than shopping all day by yourself. A small treat would certainly brighten up her day and maybe get her mind off of the world around her.

She was about to grab a textbook for her Transfigurations class when she heard muttering not to far away from her. She turned to see the red-haired boy who she automatically registered as her best friend, Ronald Weasley. But his muttering wasn't exactly friendly for he was certainly aiming it to women. He must not know that I'm here, she thought. Walking over to him, she cleared her throat to let him know that he certainly wasn't alone and that he did, in fact, have a women in his company.

"What was that, Ronald?" she asked him again, giving him a small glare. She put her hands on her hips, waiting for his answer. Oh what a nice little reunion, she thought. The first time she sees him this summer and she's already angry with him. She couldn't imagine what might ensue when she goes to visit the Burrow which should be soon since the last time she heard was that Harry was already there. Maybe Ron actually came to pick her up. No, she thought. It's obvious that he came here to shop for his school books for he would never enter such a place.

So where was his parents? And why was he up so early? Ron was never up this early. "Where's Mr. and Mrs. Weasley?" she questioned, knowing now that she probably sounded like an investigator. Well, she did want to get to the bottom of this. First of all, Ron was never up this early and second of all, he rarely went into Flourish & Blotts but for the few minutes to buy his textbooks.

"And where's Harry?" Her questions could go on but she decided to end it there. She honestly hoped that Ron was smart enough to not leave Harry out on his own with Voldemort after him and all. She really did hope that he had more brains than that. She kept her position, waiting for all the answers to her questions. Keeping her hands on her hips and refraining from tapping her foot, she stood there, not planning to budge until he answered her. And he had no reason not to answer either.

[ronweasley]

Ron was still muttering something about how he 'doesn't know how he's expected to deal with them' as he pulled his new Charms book from the shelf, only to hear a voice next to his ear. Without turning around to face her, he knew who it was immediately: Hermione Granger, one of his best friends and--though he'd never admit it outloud-- the girl he'd harbored feelings for for ages now. Also immediately, he sensed he was in trouble; he'd heard that tone of voice all too often from his mum. The voice that assured him that he should watch out, as he was about to be murdered.

So, he decided to be calm and civil about this. Repeat himself, and then maybe even apologize, as he should do (after all, he hadn't actually expected to run into a female he knew as he was making such comments). He turned his head to face her, book still in his hands, and eloquently said, "I said, you women don't really want the truth." But, from the look on her face, he realized that this was probably not at all what she wanted to hear. She'd asked him to repeat himself, though, hadn't she? So, in his mind, he was not at all to blame.

He'd hoped the conversation would end there, as it had definately taken a turn for the worse, but, she kept questioning him. Ron's ears tinted a bright red as he looked down, her asking after the whereabouts of his parents and Harry. How on Earth was he going to explain this? Logic was hardly his forte, as seen by the fact he'd already gotten off to a bad start with Hermione on their first meeting since school ended. (Not even a 'Hi, how are you?' he noticed with a scowl. She clearly hadn't missed him.)

"Well, you see... Mum and Dad are back at the Burrow. They.. you know... they were sleeping, and didn't think they'd have time to take all of us to Diagon Alley this year, so Harry and I volunteered to go outselves. They didn't respond (I think they were sleeping, actually..), but they didn't say no, so we took it as a yes, and here we are." He was stutterling slightly, sensing that a Hermione explosion was imminent, and the blush had worked its way down to his cheeks, turning him about four different shades of red. "Well, actually, here I am... Harry and I got seperated, but he's probably just checking out the new broom... Have you seen it, Hermione? It goes from zero to 175 in 10 seconds! Bloody brilliant, the way they keep coming out with faster brooms..."

It was likely a failed attempt to change the conversation topic, but he had to try, for Hermione was already angry at him. Nonetheless, he braced himself for the yelling, shrinking down a couple of inches, as though afraid of her. And, to be perfectly honest, he was.

[mione]

Hermione couldn't believe the nerve of this boy. He honestly was going to repeat himself. Her fierce gaze was on him now as she took a deep breath. He answered all of her questions right away. At least he didn't think of playing any games with her today but his honest answers would only get him in trouble. Well his partly truthful statements since his studdering may prove to be just lies. This was a perfect way to greet her best friend and boy she liked for who knows how long. She could tell that he was bracing himself for another argument. There seemingly was never peace between them, especially after that whole last year incident with Lavendar Brown. She eventually did forgive him though but that was a nightmare year for her.

"Don't want the truth?" she whispered harshly at first, trying to keep her voice down as much as possible. She didn't want to cause a scene but by the looks of it, one was on its way. It was like they were back at Hogwarts again and were arguing once more. It was something that she wished to stop but it was like she needed it. Just to prove that she didn't like Ron since she was always bickering with him. "We want the truth, you...you..." She was now spluttering with anger. How could he assume that woman don't want the truth? She gave a huge sigh of exasperation. "I can't believe you sometimes." She had succeeded on keeping her voice down on the first round but she wasn't done yet.

"And so you just left?" he asked him with a questioning eyebrow. "I'm assuming that you took it as a yes for it seems that Harry has more brains than that." She was now fully glaring at him, his chest heaving up and down in anger. "V-Voldemort is out there, Ronald!" Every head turned out the sound of the dark lord's name. The shopkeeper told them to be quiet but Hermione was certainly not done yet. "And you just let Harry disappear!? I mean, honestly, Ronald, think about it for a minute." She wasn't as mad about them leaving his parents but even angrier for letting Harry out on his own. "We live in dangerous times! This man is looking for him and you let him wander off alone!"

She shook her head, not believing her best friend sometimes. Doesn't he have some kind of brain in there? He proved it in their fifth year when he tricked Malfoy and his goons with those puking pastilles. It was brilliant and she was shocked. But he does have some kind of brain in there. "He's after Harry and you let him go?" She couldn't believe it. Her voice had lowered and become a bit more calmer. "We have to go and look for him." There was no doubt in her mind now. She set the books that she had picked out on a shelf. She would come back to them later when they got Harry.

"And Ron," she started. "It's called aerodynamics." She knew that it was a muggle thing but she was sure that the wizards used it to make there brooms go faster. Pushing back a loose hair behind her ear, she looked at Ron to see if he was ready to go. "We'll come back to shop, Ron. I want to make sure that Harry is alright." She was worried about him. But she was more worried that Ron had left without really telling his parents where he was going. She was sure that he would hear about it later from Mrs. Weasley. "Ron, next time don't go alone without physically telling your parents. I would hate to see you get hurt." It was sort of her way of making a truce between them now. She was done with the argument in the store. She had already stopped calling him by his full name, which was a hint that she wasn't angry anymore.

[harrypotter]

'' He didn't let me disappear.'' Harry said calmly appearing from behind a bookshelf taking a stand next to Ron he looked at her Hermione with a faint smile she had grown quite alot over the summer, he had to admit he was impressed but she was more like a sister to him because she was always there, he scratched his scar it didn't bother him it just itched he just wondered where Ginny had gone but he didn't let himself worry about that as he ran his fingers through his black hair he clapped his hand onto Ron's shoulder lightly then removed it looking Hermione over once more smirking he said nothing further because he didn't have anything to say at the moment well he figured he could ask how her summer was.

''So Hermione how was your Summer?'' Harry asked noticing that his friend had stopped talking, seemed to be frozen in his steps causing Harry to shake his head but he waited for Hermione to answer his question as he looked around the place no one seemed to be lurking in the shop at this point which he found to be a good thing but he knew the dark lord was out there considering he hadn't exactly defeated him in his fifth year but he didn't let that linger in his mind he pushed it aside, thought about his summer it was as boring as usual because he had spent it with the Dursley's but once again he pushed all the negative aside he didn't need to worry about anything right now this was his last year at hogwarts after all.

[mione]

Hermione hadn't expected for Harry to jump out of nowhere and she was startled. She couldn't believe the nerve of her two best friends at times. They could be so...so...oh she couldn't even find a word to describe those two. Well she actually had the perfect word for Ron and that was 'git.' He was a git but she found herself attracted to him anyways. She would never admit that to him or anybody else for that matter. Even though Ginny told her tons of times that it was obvious and that Ron was too stupid to notice. She didn't believe a word of their rubbish and just continued to deny her feelings. Their friendship was already on rocky ground as it was and if anything did happen between them, they might ruin their friendship. She treasured their friendship more than a relationship.

"Harry," she breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you two thinking going out on your own?" They could be so irrational at times but so was she. She just shook her head since she had already scolded Ron. She really couldn't believe those boys sometimes. But she was friends with them anyways. They were like her foundation and without them, she was sure that she would fall. At least they were safe and alive. She would have to watch over them now. She usually had to keep them out of trouble even though she did followed them on their adventures, which all of them did break their rules.

"Mine's was alright," she said. "I visited Viktor in Bulgaria for a week." She glanced over to Ron, knowing that he wouldn't be too happy to hear about that. She would never understand why though. It was only Viktor Krum, who she was really good friends with. "And what about yours, Harry? Yours, Ron?" She hoped that her friends had a good of a summer as she had. She knew that Harry had to stay with those dreadful people he had as family. She always felt terrible for him for they were extremely rude and gave muggles a bad name.

[harrypotter]

'' It was alright better then most I'll give it that.'' Harry said hearing that Hermione had visited Viktor in Bulgaria for a week he thought that was rather cool but he had wished he had been able to see Cho over the summer or anyone for that matter but he had been stuck at private drive all summer long, he was rather glad he was staying with Ron until it was time for school which he looked forward to but didn't look forward to although it was a long way off what would happen this year one thing he knew for sure is that he would actually ask Ginny to be his girlfriend but he didn't want to think about that right now besides Ginny was his best friends sister after all.