If I Knew What to Say
A/N: Hello! Thank you for choosing to read this! It means so much to me!
A/N: For those of you who like Ginny's given name as Virginia I don't (no offense) and so I've taken the liberty of making her given name Genevieve. Sorry if this confuses anyone.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; hell I don't own anything. As my dad would say, "I don't have a pot to piss in."
We never say so much as when we do not quite know what we want to say. We need few words when we have something to say, but all the words in all the dictionaries will not suffice when we have nothing to say and want desperately to say it.
~Eric Hoffer
Chapter 1: A Blue Crookshanks
"Arghhhhh! I hate you Ron! I really do this time!" Hermione Granger screamed at him in the middle of the Gryffindor common room.
Ron Weasley had innocently enough attempted to perform a simple trick on Hermione's large orange cat Crookshanks (he had tried a grooming spell on him) and instead he had muttered the wrong words, turning Crookshanks's brilliant orange fur into a midnight blue color. Really, it was a pretty color; it just wasn't cat-like.
Harry laughed and Ron tried hard to keep a straight face, although he was currently failing miserably.
"Oh Crookshanks!" Hermione cooed, scooping the fat cat up into her arms, scratching behind his ears. "Oh my darling Crookshanks! Mum will get this figured out," she promised tenderly. Then she snapped her gaze to Ron. "And Ron, I swear to you that if this isn't reversible I'll hex you into the next century!" Compared to the tone she had used with Crookshanks, she was quite loud. And from the look in her eyes, she was quite serious also.
Ron stifled his laughter long enough to get a semi-serious sentence out. "Hermione, I didn't mean to do it, I really didn't." He pointed to the cat still in her arms. "But look, I think he might like it."
As if understanding Ron's words, Crookshanks glared at Ron, his eyes glinting madly and hissed.
Ron held his hands up in a defensive stance and back away. "Alright, alright. Sheesh. I said I was sorry. Doesn't a good old fashioned apology count for anything anymore?" he asked no one in particular.
"RON!" Hermione bellowed. "You turned my cat blue!" she screamed hysterically. Harry had to run out of the deserted room he was laughing so hard. On the way out of the portrait hole he stopped his and Ron's roommates, as well as other Gryffindors who thought now might be a good time to play a friendly game of Exploding Snap or test one of Fred and George Weasley's inventions.
"You stupid prat!" she screamed loud enough they could hear through the fat lady's closed portrait. "How could you do this to Crookshanks?"
They could hear mumbling through the door and so Harry thought Hermione was probably speaking with Crookshanks. He could just see her reassuring her cat that all would be well again.
Personally, Harry thought Crookshanks looked better blue. A new fit of laughter overcame him.
The portrait door swung open then and a very haughty looking Hermione proceeded to walk past them. Her nose was quite high into the air.
No one dared to laugh as she walked past, clutching her blue cat close to her chest, but as soon as she disappeared through the corridor everyone erupted into laughter. Ginny was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face.
As his laughter subsided, Harry realized Ron hadn't come out of the common room as Harry had assumed he would. Rather, he hadn't made an appearance yet at all. Curious, Harry walked into the common room only to find Ron sitting quietly at the couch. His blue eyes were staring into the dancing fire.
"Hey Ron!" Harry cried out cheerily. "That was pretty funny, wasn't it?"
Ron mumbled something indiscernible. The common room became noisy then and Harry knew that to talk to Ron at all he would have to take a seat next to him on the couch.
"Hey Harry! Want to play a game of Exploding Snap?" Dean Thomas called from across the room. Harry waved a hand in response.
"What did you say Ron?" Harry asked then. His eyebrows knit together; Ron wasn't acting like he normally did after something really, really funny happened.
"Oh nothing," Ron said through a sigh. He looked at Harry worriedly. "You know I didn't mean to turn Crookshanks blue, don't you?" he asked, obviously quite concerned that Harry didn't know the truth.
"Yeah, I know you didn't mean to," Harry said truthfully.
"Because I don't think Hermione knew I didn't mean to," Ron continued thoughtfully. "She said I've always hated Crookshanks and that's why I did it. Well, she was right about one thing. I don't like that damn cat. I may respect him, but I don't like him at all. The bastard cat hates me!"
Harry grinned. Ron was right; Crookshanks didn't really care for Ron either. At least the feeling is mutual he thought. Voicing this thought to Ron he hoped to get a grin, a smile, any kind of positive reaction from his friend.
Ron smiled back weakly. "I guess there is something to that." He stood up and stretched his long legs, reaching now muscled arms to the ceiling. "I'm going to the Owlery, OK Harry? I think I'll write Mum." Ron had been writing his family at The Burrow a lot more now since Voldemort was back.
Harry nodded. "Say hi to them for me," he requested, as always. He turned around to look over the back of the couch. "Hey Dean, how does that game of Exploding Snap sound to you right now?" he asked just as Ron left the common room.
Dean grinned. "Sounds mighty fine Harry!"
While Harry settled down in the seat across from Dean, Seamus plopped down in the chair nearest to them. "So, when do you think they'll finally get their act together?" Seamus mused out loud. Harry had been wondering the same thing.
The twins heard this and George piped up first. "Never if Ron has anything to say about it!" he called out. Ginny jabbed her older brother in the side. "Ouch Gin!" he yelped. The redheaded girl stuck her nose in the air much like Hermione had done earlier.
"Serves you right George," she said. Then she smiled wickedly. "I'll bet they figure it out before Christmas."
"Really?" Dean asked as he looked up from the game. "You want to place a bet on the Ginny?"
She had a smug look about her that told Harry she was withholding information from her prospective betters.
"Yes Genevieve, does this mean you want to place a bet?" Fred asked with a mischievous grin and an impish glint in his eye.
She grinned. Evidently she had planned this out. Parvati and Lavender, upon overhearing Fred's comment, giggled in the corner, whispering and nodding to each other like a couple of schoolgirls. Oh yes, they are schoolgirls.
Dean put a galleon on his corner of the table. "Fine. One galleon each says they won't figure it out by the time the O.W.L.S. come around." Ginny raised one eyebrow expertly and Harry thought for a moment on how much she looked like Molly Weasley.
"Nah…they'll figure it out by Halloween," Harry said, hoping to the high heavens that was true. He didn't think he could handle more than two months of bickering from his best friends.
"Who will figure what out by Halloween?" Hermione asked, overhearing their conversation as she reentered the common room with a very orange Crookshanks. He purred constantly in her arms, obviously happy to be orange again and not blue. Blue. Harry nearly burst out laughing again.
"Oh nothing!" George exclaimed loudly with a very long whistle.
Hermione peered at him. She didn't really trust George Weasley, or Fred Weasley for that matter, but since it seemed that no one was the size of a hot-air balloon or blowing steam out their ears she shouldn't be worried.
"OK," she said quietly. Then she looked at Harry, who was quite engrossed in his game with Dean. "Um, Harry, where is Ron?" she asked tentatively.
Ginny shared a knowing look with Hermione's roommates.
"He went to the Owlery," Harry replied absent-mindedly. He really needed to concentrate on this game. Dean was winning.
"Oh," was all Hermione said. She moved a chair to sit next to Seamus. For a moment it seemed as if the ever opinionated Hermione Granger wasn't going to say anything but it didn't take long for her to start talking.
"You know Harry; I really should apologize to Ron. I mean, I said some pretty nasty things to him earlier. I know he didn't mean to turn Crookshanks blue, and I guess it was kind of funny, but still!" she huffed. She looked down at Crookshanks. "I'm sorry there, Crookshanks, but it was kind of funny." Crookshanks purred like he understood what Hermione had just said.
"Yep," Harry interjected as he sensed it was the right spot to say something.
"I hope I can see him tonight before I go the library. You know, we've got the O.W.L.S. coming up soon Harry. You and he really ought to start studying soon. I'll bet they are really hard," she said.
Seamus rolled his eyes. He probably would have continued rolling his eyes too, except at that moment Lavender Brown threw an appreciative glance in his direction. Seamus almost slipped off his seat.
"Slippery chair there Seamus?" Dean asked without looking up from the game.
"Ha ha, very funny Dean!" Seamus responded as he gathered himself together again. This time Hermione rolled her eyes.
She sat there, stroking Crookshanks for a bit until she realized what time it was. "Oh dear! I've really go to be going Harry! Tell Ron I want to speak with him, please?" she asked.
"Sure," Harry mumbled. Hermione didn't seem to notice Harry not paying attention for surely she would have said something if she had. Harry promptly forgot what it was Hermione had asked for.
Ron came bumbling in as if on cue. He settled in the seat Hermione had just been occupying.
"Hermione was in Ron!" George called. He was making stupid kissy-like faces at Ron while he said this and Ron turned quite red.
"Was Crookshanks still blue?"
Harry paused in the game long enough to shake his head. "Nope. Crookshanks was quite un-blue."
Thanks for reading!!! Please review now (and give me some ideas as to what to do next for I have no idea!)! Review no matter what but please don't be too-too evil if you hated it (constructive criticism, as always is appreciated). Thanks so much again!