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Author: Mistral Story: Just Plain Harry Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 3 Words: 143,689
A/N: As always, many thanks to my beta-reader, Arabella. When Harry finally forced himself to go back to Gryffindor Tower, he found Hermione alone in the common room. She was writing in her diary, and he didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. "So, excited about the Yule Ball?" he asked, as he stood in front of her. She didn't look up. This whole situation just kept getting stranger and stranger, and he really didn't want to get caught in the middle, but he suspected that he would. "Oh, sure," she said. "I'm very excited about going to the ball with my friend." "Erm, you are talking about Ron, right?" "Yes, he asked me as a friend," she said. Harry opened his mouth to say something - he wasn't sure what, but an apology seemed appropriate - when he heard a gasp behind him. "He did what?" It was Ginny. Harry didn't turn around, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that she had her hands on her hips and looked furious. Okay, just act like normal, he thought. Uh...what would be normal? "I know, can you believe it?" he said, turning sharply to face her, which unfortunately brought her elbow into contact with his stomach. He doubled up in pain. "Oh, Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked, but Ginny didn't even seem to notice. "Where is that boy? I need to talk some sense into him," she said, looking around the common room. "No, Ginny, please don't, I'm all right, it will be fine," Hermione said, but Ginny wasn't really listening to her, either. "And speaking of talking sense into people," she said, turning to Harry, "who gave you the right to approve my dates?" Her hair, which had been twisted up into a knot to be out of her way while studying, was coming loose, and her eyes flashed. Harry caught his breath at the sight of her. He straightened up, staring. How could he live like this, so close to her, but with no right to reach out and touch her? Oh, right, she had asked a question. "Well, you couldn't expect Colin to go to Ron, or Fred or George, could you? I was the next best thing," he said, in what he hoped was a reasonable tone. She had already had her mouth open, probably to yell at him some more, but at that she looked confused. "You mean Colin asked you as...as my brother?" "Of course, what else would it be?" "Hmm..." she said, eyeing him sharply. He must have looked innocent enough, because she just added, "Then you'll be happy to hear that I've accepted him," before turning and walking back up the stairs to her dormitory. Harry watched her all the way up the stairs, until even her feet disappeared. When he turned back to Hermione, she was watching him with narrow eyes. He sank down onto the sofa next to her. "You're right, of course," he said, trying to school his features and his voice into not giving himself away. "Colin didn't ask me as Ginny's brother. He wanted to make sure that I wasn't planning on asking her to the ball before he did. Can you believe that guy? I really hope he'll grow out of this...thing he has about me soon." Harry realized he was babbling, and shut his mouth with a slight snap. "And what did you say?" Hermione asked, still watching him closely. "I told him to go for it! I mean, aside from his attitude towards me, Colin's a great guy. Of course, no one's really good enough for Ginny, but he comes close." There. If that didn't convince her, he didn't know what would. Apparently it did, because she just said, "You're right, no one's good enough," before turning back to her diary. Harry wasn't going to let her get away that easily, though. "So, Ron asked you as a friend?" he prompted. Hermione sighed. "I really don't want to talk about this right now, Harry," she said. "But, Hermione, we're friends! Who can you talk to if not to me? Besides, I might be able to talk some sense into him." "No one can talk sense into Ron," Hermione said, her eyes slightly unfocused as she stared off into space. "He needs to come around to sense all on his own, or it just won't happen. And when you start opening up to me, perhaps I'll open up to you." Harry was so shocked by what she'd said that he just stared at her. Hermione watched him for a moment, gave a short nod, and packed up her things before following Ginny up the stairs. After a moment, Harry remembered that there was someone else he could ask about Ron being an idiot, so he went up to his own dormitory to find Ron himself. He didn't make it two steps into the room before he was knocked flat onto his back on the floor. He slowly recovered his breath and his vision, but he didn't need either to figure out who was sitting on his chest. "Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter is the greatest, the kindest, the best wizard ever! Harry Potter says that Dobby can work for him! Dobby will tell all house-elves about your greatness and goodness, Harry Potter, sir!" Harry also didn't need vision to know who else was in the room, sniggering at his predicament. He pushed Dobby off of him, stood up, and glared at Ron and Dean. Before he could say anything, though, Dobby threw his arms around both of Harry's knees, so he had to deal with him first. "Thank you for coming to work for me, Dobby," he said, his annoyance at what would probably be a common greeting melting as he saw the radiant look on the house-elf's face. "We need to talk about your wages and days off - I want you to take more than you let Professor Dumbledore give you." Dobby looked horrified. "Oh, but Harry Potter, sir -" "Dobby, I insist," Harry said, trying to look stern. "But we'll talk specifics later. It's late, and I'm tired. Was there anything else you needed to do here tonight?" "No, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby said, looking shocked. "Sir won't even know I is here!" He disappeared with a pop. Harry turned to his roommates, who had both collapsed with laughter again. "Look, guys, Dumbledore insisted, I didn't have much choice, it won't be so bad, will it? Besides, I'm not the only one - Winky's going to be working for Ginny, and -" Ron's laughter ended suddenly, and he sat up on his bed. "Ginny's getting a house-elf?" Harry and Dean both stared at him, surprised at his change in mood. "Dumbledore says that Winky needs to work for just one person, and Ginny's the person who's been nicest to her. She's been going down to the kitchens to visit Winky, and try to cheer her up, since she hasn't taken to freedom well," Harry said, adding the last bit for Dean's benefit, because he couldn't imagine what he was thinking about all this. Dean knew about last year's Moody really being Crouch, of course, because the real Moody told all of his classes, along with the obligatory lecture on constant vigilance. But no one knew about Winky's part in all that, except Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. Ron obviously wasn't thinking of that. "I should have known that Ginny would be the one to get a house-elf," he muttered. Harry and Dean looked at each other, not sure what to say. Harry wasn't about to remind Ron that he had known all about Winky, too, and he hadn't done anything to help her. "But I'm sure Winky will help all of you when you're at home, and Dobby will probably help all of us here, right, Harry?" Dean said after a moment. "Oh, yes, of course, I'm sure he won't mind," Harry said. Ron wasn't listening, though. "And how is Ginny going to pay Winky? I mean, I know she probably won't take much, but Ginny doesn't really have anything." His ears turned pink, and he avoided looking at Dean. Harry knew it would come to this eventually. "She won't be paying her," he said. "What? I wonder what Hermione'll say to that? One of the charter members of spew owning a house-elf?" "She'll probably be glad that the person who owns Winky will treat her well. Can you imagine Ginny mistreating anyone?" Dean asked. He was an only child, and Harry knew that he didn't like it when siblings undervalued each other. "Besides, Ginny's going to try to get Winky to accept some form of payment, even if it's just presents," Harry added. "Yeah, whatever," Ron said, perking up a bit. "It's still slavery, and I can't wait to hear what Hermione has to say about it." He started getting ready for bed then, but Harry wasn't about to let him get away with that. "So, did you ask her?" he said. Ron and Dean both looked at each other, as though they weren't sure who he was talking to. At least, Dean wasn't sure - Harry could tell that Ron knew quite well, he just didn't want to talk about it. "Ron?" he prompted. "Well, yeah, I asked her - that's what I came back here to do, remember? And she said yes, which she had to do anyway, so I don't see what all this fuss is about." Ron didn't meet Harry's eyes, though. "Whoa, does this mean what I think it means?" Dean said, looking back and forth between the two of them, grinning like a maniac. "Did you actually ask Hermione to the Yule Ball already?" "What do you mean, already?" Ron said belligerently. "I didn't really have to ask her, anyway, because -" He broke off as Harry went into a coughing fit and glared at him significantly. Dean was a good friend, but Harry didn't think that Hermione would want anyone else to know that she was going to the Yule Ball with Ron because of a bet. Luckily, by the time his fake coughing stopped, Dean had put another interpretation on Ron's words. "Well, of course you didn't," he said, chuckling a little. "Everyone knows about the two of you - probably no one else would have asked Hermione, just because we all knew you would. I'm just surprised you were this quick, but I suppose you didn't want to miss out." He grinned at Ron's outraged face. "So, who are you going to ask, Dean, if it's not Hermione?" Ron asked, trying to make a recovery. Dean was so dark that it was hard to tell when he blushed, but Harry thought he did at that question. "I was actually thinking of asking Ginny," he said. Now it was his turn not to meet the other boys' eyes. "What? My little sister Ginny?" "What other Ginny do you know?" "Why would you ask Ginny? How do you even know her?" "Ron. Hello! We're both in Gryffindor, of course I know her. And...well, you know when you go to Hermione with a question, and she's a little impatient because you do make me feel better. Sometimes she asks Hermione to go slower so she can understand. And sometimes, it's just something friendly with a smile. She's got a wonderful smile, your sister." Ron just sat in a stunned silence. Dean gave a slight chuckle. "So I thought I'd ask her, anyway. Can't hurt, can it?" "She can't go with you," Harry said. He didn't want to get in the middle of this, but he simply couldn't sit there and listen to Dean praise Ginny any longer. He agreed with every word Dean had said, even the part about Hermione being impatient when interrupted, but it was just too painful. "Why not? Did you ask her? Please tell me you didn't ask her, too," Ron said. Harry had to laugh at that. "No, but Colin did, and she accepted." Ron groaned and threw himself onto his bed, his head in his arms. "I can't take it, I just can't!" Harry and Dean both laughed at him, but Harry could tell that Dean really was disappointed. Well, what did you expect? Harry thought. Even though you just realized how wonderful Ginny is, it doesn't mean that other guys didn't notice long ago. And you have no right to be jealous, none at all. As he got ready for bed, he kept telling himself that, but it didn't help. He still wanted to hex Dean into next week for daring to dream of his girl.
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