(no subject)
"well, here we are." the trio was standing in front of a large peach house, waiting for the taxi driver to pull their trunks onto the curb. they had decided to take a cab, not wanting to risk being seen by the public on the street where headquarters were located. as the driver pulled away from the curb, the three teens dragged their trunks up to the beautifully decorated front door. hermione pulled a key out of her trunk and opened the door, stepping inside quietly.
"mom? dad? i'm home!" she called. harry heard a shreik, and soon hermione's mother had come rushing out of the kitchen to envelope her daughter in a very mrs. weasley-ish hug.
"oh, my baby's home at last! i missed you dear! Hugh. HUGH! hermione's home! come quick!" a few moments later, a tall, slightly balding man stepped into the foyer, smiling at his daughter happily.
"hermione, dear. i'm glad you're back. your mother and i missed you. the house seems so empty with just the two of us."
hermione smiled, hugging her father.
"hi mom, hi dad. it's nice to be back. now, i'd like you to meet my friends, ron weasley and harry potter." mr. granger shook hands with both boys, with a smile and a pleasent, "nice to meet you."
mrs. granger was exstatic. "oh my goodness! i finally get to meet the two of you! you don't know how happy this makes me! hermione's always been going on and on about you two. thank you boys so much for being so sweet to our hermione. she never really had friends before hogwarts. hard to believe, i know. but she was always so bright, i guess the other kids just didn't understand her." harry grinned at this. he didn't find it all that hard to think of 10-year-old kids to not like the brilliant, bossy, slightly show-offy hermione. ron had a look on his face that told harry he wasn't the only one thinking this. he started sniggering, before hermione elbowed him sharply.
"hermione, why don't you show your friends the house? i've got to start cooking dinner, and your father has some work he'd like to finish. you know he works at home on mondays."
"yes, i know, om. that's why i wanted to come today," said hermione, grinning. "come on, you two." hermione led the two boys out of the foyer. harry was shocked to find that hermione actually had a very big house. for some reason, he had always thought of hermione's house as small.
"wow, hermione. your house is amazing. i never thought it would be so- so-"
"big?" completed hermione, smiling. "it's a subconsious thing, harry. i mean, if you actually stop to think about it, you realize that it only makes sense for my house to be big. my parents are dentists, after all. i don't know if you realize it, but dentists make quite a bit of money. the thing is, whenever you've been around me, you've seen me with wizards. around wizards, harry, i'm considered by some to be worth less than them, because of my muggle parents. it's not true, and i know you, at least, don't think of me that way. but still, you've always seen me in an environment where i am less than everyone else. but here in the muggle world, i'm actually worth a lot more than some people. money-wise only, of course, but, if you think about it, that's the only thing many people look at. kids may think more about you than your money, which is why i never had friends, but adults respect you for your income. here, my family is actually quite highly thought of. its kind of funny, actually." harry stared at hermione, somewhat shocked. he had never really thought about this before. why had it never occured to him to wonder what it was like for hermione in the muggle world? had he just assumed that it would be the same for her as it was for him?
yes, he had. harry was ashamed to think about it, but he had never thought that hermione could have it better than him. like hermione said, he had always seen her being given a hard time because she was muggle-born. well, he was glad. glad that hermione had SOME places where she was treated well because of her family, and not put down because of it. harry grinned and followed hermione as she led them on the rest of the tour.
harry found that he really loved hermione's house. as much as he loved the burrow, in fact. hermione's parents were extrodinarily nice, and loved harry as though he were their own son. hermione lived in a dream house, big and comforatable, and totally pleasent. and mr. and mrs. granger didn't mind magic in the least. in fact, they loved it every time any of the young wizards whipped out their wands to clean the dishes, and they loved to watch hermione, who had passed her apparating test, help harry and ron practice for their next test, as they had both failed in july, cheering with hermione every time they managed to actually apparate. harry found himself wishing that he had lived with people like this. he knew he would never have liked to live in the wizarding world when he was young, since he would have been hounded by the public and the press, but to live with muggles like this would have been extrodinary.
the three spent several uneventful but very happy days at hermione's house. then finally, ron worked up all his courage and apprached hermione.
"um, hermione, can we talk for a minute?" he said, with a funny look on his face.
hermione put down the book she was reading and looked at ron curiously. "sure, ron," she said, eyeing him curiously. "are you okay? you look a bit sick. are you sure you wouldn't rather lie down?"
"no," said ron determinedly. "i really need to talk to you about something."
this caused harry to look up as well. he knew what was going on. he watched as hermione followed ron out of the room, noticing that ron was determinedly avoiding his gaze. he grinned. 'finally,' he thought.
half an hour later, ron and hermione returned, both looking rather flushed. "well?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
"well, what?" asked hermione, obviously trying to sound casual.
"well, what'd you two talk about?" asked harry, rather amused.
"erm," said ron uncomfortably. "you know, this and that."
"this and that?" now harry was laughing. "i'm sure you could have talked about this and that right here, couldn't you?"
"harry, stop. you know what's going on, admit it," said ron.
"maybe. but i'd like to hear it from you two. i mean, you guys could do me that, couldn't you. i'm your best mate, remember?"
"fine harry. i told hermione that i've had feeling for her for a very long time, and she said that she did too." said ron abrubtly.
"and...?" prompted harry.
"and, well, i don't know how it happened, but we kind of started kissing. and then we didn't stop until just now." said ron, the tips of his ears turning pink. hermione's face now resembled a cherry tomato.
harry grinned at this. "congrats, then. i was wondering how long it would take. you two are really good together, you know. i'm happy for you. just don't forget about me, okay?"
"oh, harry," said hermione in a rush. "you know we would never forget you. you were the first person to ever be nice to me, and your ron's best friend."
"yea, i know. i'm really glad this finally worked. just don't break up over something stupid, okay?"
"oh, don't worry. i think we'll be okay," said ron, grasping hermione's hand.
"oh, harry, i'm so glad you feel this way. it would have been horrible if you were mad about it or something."
"why would i be mad, hermione? i mean, you two were obviously made for each other, and besides, i've got ginny. or at least, i will once this war is over. i hope."
"you will, mate," said ron firmly. "she's been mad about you since before she's even seen you, and she's never given up on you. not even when she was dating those other guys. you'll be together someday, i know it."
"thanks, mate. now, you guys have liked each other for years, so you have a lot of time to make up for." with this, he shoved ron into an armchair and placed hermione in his lap. they both looked at him, somewhat shocked. "get to it." grinning, he started walking towards his room. when he looked back from the doorway, the two were already kissing paasionately. whistling, he turned around and walked upstairs and flopped onto his bed, worn out.