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Locations for Snogging | ||||
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Category: Summer Challenge (2005-4) Characters:None Genres: General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 14 Summary: It's the last week of school, and everyone has a partner and a place to snog, except Ron and Ginny. Oh where can Hermione and Harry be? Hitcount: Story Total: 7095 |
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Disclaimer: Rowling, not me! A/N: I've found a beta! Gracias Lani for looking this fic over. Also, remember that this is a pre-HBP fic, so there may be a few events here which contradict HBP. It was the last week of the school term. The Hogwarts students often called it Dead Week, because after the conclusion of the exams during the penultimate week of term, there were usually no classes held at all. Most students, therefore, were able to spend the final week playing on the Quidditch pitch, gossiping about their summer plans, or, as most of the older students did, snogging their boyfriends and/(or) girlfriends. But there were two students who were able to enjoy the last week of term. Harry and Hermione were the only two sixth-years in N.E.W.T.-level Potions, and Professor Snape decided to keep his N.E.W.T. students busy until the last day of term. This left Ron, who had asked Hermione out the previous autumn, and Ginny, who was now dating Harry, without snogging partners. “I can’t wait for Potions class to end,” Ron groaned impatiently as he sat in the Gryffindor common room. “You just want to snog Hermione, don’t you?” Ginny laughed. “Don’t worry, Potions is almost over. And Hermione told us to meet her and Harry in the library.” “That’s right,” said Ron. “Hermione has to turn in that copy of Most Potente Potions that all N.E.W.T-level Potions students were allowed to check out.” “Yes, then you’ll be able to snog Hermione all you want!” “As if you’re not eager to meet Harry!” Ron shot back at his sister. “You’re right, of course,” said Ginny. “After all, it is Dead Week, so what else is there to do but snog our boyfriends and/(or) girlfriends senseless?” So, when the final bell rang, Ron and Ginny set off for the library. But they were unable to leave, because Seamus and Lavender were snogging right in front of the portrait hole. “Excuse me,” Ron tapped his roommate on the shoulder, “but my sister and I need to go to the library.” “Can’t you see I’m busy here!” Seamus’s lips parted from Lavender’s in order to say this. “And besides, why would anyone want to go to the library now that term has ended?” “Don’t be rude,” said Lavender. She pushed Seamus out of the way so that the two Weasleys could pass. “Thanks,” Ron muttered as he and Ginny left the common room. As they passed by the Divination classroom, they could hear moaning sounds. They looked up and saw Dean and Parvati making out just above them. It brought out painful memories for Ginny as she gazed at her ex-boyfriend. She almost didn’t notice the crystal ball that Parvati had accidentally kicked down the ladder until it nearly hit her. “Heads up!” Ron called out. “Thanks.” Ginny shook her head as the crystal ball shattered next to her. Now they were passing by the Room of Requirement. “Stay away from there,” Ginny warned her brother. “There’s probably loads of couples snogging in there.” As if on cue, the door opened, and Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones appeared, quickly letting go of each other’s hands. “Oh,” said Justin, “we were afraid you two were a professor. Back to making out, then, Sue.” Before the door closed, Ron could see Anthony Goldstein kissing Padma Patil, and several other couples snogging on the several loveseats that had appeared in the room. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you,” Ginny giggled. Then the siblings passed by the Owlery, where two Hufflepuffs, Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones, had decided that this was their snogging spot. “This must be the worst place for snogging,” Ron noted aloud. “It stinks, and besides, there’s the chance of having owl droppings in your hair.” “Do you mind?” said Wayne, looking up from his partner. “Sorry,” Ron mumbled, hurrying away from the Owlery. They reached the stairs and started to walk down to the library, which was on the fourth floor. But Ron suddenly stopped at the fifth floor. “There’s one more flight of stairs,” Ginny reminded him. “I have to go to the loo,” Ron informed her. “Ron!” Ginny snapped. “Why didn’t you go back when we were still in Gryffindor Tower?” So Ron entered the prefect’s bathroom on the fifth floor. Sure enough, he saw yet another snogging couple, this time Ernie MacMillan and Hannah Abbott. “Can’t even go to the bathroom without running into another couple making out,” Ron told his sister once he had finished in the loo. Then the siblings descended one more flight of stairs. “One last corridor,” said Ron, “and we’ll be at the library at last!” But of course they had to endure one more kissing couple, this time Michael Corner and Cho Chang, right there in the corridor. “And I can’t even go to the library without seeing another one of my ex-boyfriends,” Ginny whispered. Unfortunately, when they reached the library, Harry and Hermione were nowhere to be found. “Have you seen Harry Potter or Hermione Granger?” Ron asked Madam Pince. “No, I haven’t,” the librarian replied. So Ron and Ginny decided to wait in the library for a while. After an hour, however, it was obvious that Harry and Hermione weren’t going to show. “Why don’t you try searching for them outside?” Madam Pince suggested. “After all, many students are outside on a day like this.” “Thanks,” said Ginny as she and Ron left the library. Soon they reached the first floor, where they saw yet another couple making out, this time Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, snogging in the empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Ron tried hard not to gag at the sight of the two Slytherins making out. Finally they reached the ground floor, but it wasn’t without seeing even more couples. There were Terry Boot and Lisa Turpin snogging inside of a broom cupboard. Then, over in classroom eleven, there was actually some blonde girl trying to make out with Firenze. “But he’s a centaur!” Ron cried out indignantly. “And a teacher.” “That must be Kelly,” Ginny informed him, “a Ravenclaw in my year. She has a reputation for trying to snog all the male teachers in the school.” “Yeah, I bet she really earns her grades,” said Ron. But then they could see Firenze kick Kelly away from him with his hind legs. “She deserved that,” Ginny grinned. “You said it!” Ron agreed. The siblings reached the Entrance Hall. When they walked outside, they could see even more couples embracing each other. Neville and Eloise Midgen were walking hand-in-hand around the lake. Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode were lying near some rose bushes. They could see a couple trying to sneak off into the Forbidden Forest. And they could see their older brother, George, making out with his girlfriend Katie Bell, right in the stands on the Quidditch pitch. Ginny realized that George must have been off-duty from the Hogsmeade branch of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes again. She looked up and saw two seventh-years, Eddie Carmichael and Marietta Edgecombe, snogging on the balcony of Ravenclaw Tower. “Look over there,” Ron pointed at the greenhouse. “There’s someone in there, but I can’t see who it is.” Ginny’s face lit up. “Maybe it’s Harry or Hermione.” Unfortunately, when they arrived at greenhouse two, they saw only Luna Lovegood inside. “What are you doing here, Loony?” Ron asked. Luna smiled. “I’m kissing, of course.” “But I don’t see anyone here,” Ron continued “So who are you kissing, Loony? The Invisible Man?” Luna laughed. “There’s no such person as the Invisible Man, Ronald. I’m kissing these dittany leaves.” “Dittany leaves? You must be kidding!” “It says so here in the Quibbler that if you kiss the leaves of the dittany plant it’s good luck.” She handed Ron a copy of her father’s magazine. At first Ron hesitated, not sure whether he should accept the magazine or not, but after seeing Luna’s pleading face, he gave in and began to read the article. “The dittany is one of the most magical plants in the world. Indeed, wizards are always discovering more and more of its secrets. The juice extracted from its roots, for example, can heal several magical ailments, while its wood can be used to form some of the most powerful wand cores. Even now, wand makers are only now beginning to harness the powers of the dittany plant. The latest discovery, however, is the most surprising of all. We now have reason to believe that kissing -- you read that right -- kissing the dittany’s leaves causes good luck upon the kisser. A witch in Edinburgh has reported finding one thousand Galleons one day after she tripped and her lips happened to land on dittany leaves she grows in her backyward. She told her husband this, and convinced him to kiss the leaves. One week after doing so, he was promoted at the Ministry of Magic. Then the couple convinced their son to kiss the leaves. The following year he received five Outstanding N.E.W.T.s and was --” Ron stopped reading. “You don’t expect me to believe this crap, do you? There’s no way I’m kissing some leaves off the dirty ground.” “Are you sure, Ronald?” Luna asked. “Ron,” Ginny whispered, “we don’t want to offend Luna. It’s her own father’s magazine after all.” Then she stooped down and placed her lips on the dittany leaves. “See, Ginevra believes the Quibbler,” said Luna, turning to Ron. Since Ron wanted to stop arguing so he could return to the search for Harry and Hermione, he finally gave in and kissed the plant. “There, you happy now?” Ron asked angrily. “Let’s leave, Ginny.” “Where could they be?” asked Ginny in a frustrated tone. “Maybe they’re at Hagrid’s,” Ron suggested. “At least there won’t be any snogging over there.” But Ron was wrong. For Madame Maxime was in town, so apparently Beauxbatons school let out a few days before Hogwarts. When he opened the door, he found the two half-giants in a compromising position. “Hello, Ron, Ginny,” said Hagrid quickly. “You caugh’ me a bad time. Please come back later.” “We just want to know where Harry and Hermione are,” Ron explained. “We were supposed to meet them right after Potions.” “Then maybe they’re still in the Potions dungeon,” Hagrid pointed out, “Now, if ye’d excuse me --” “We’re leaving,” Ginny sighed, feeling that she couldn’t go away from Hagrid’s hut fast enough. They hurried back to the castle. Why hadn’t she and her brother tried looking in the Potion dungeon first, before running off all over the grounds, Ginny asked herself. After descending the stone steps leading to the cellar, Ron said, “I’m hungry. Let me just nick a quick little something from the kitchens.” “But --” Ginny began. “It’ll only take a moment,” Ron insisted. When Ron and Ginny entered the kitchens, they were surprised at what they saw. Standing in a corner of the room was a pair of snogging house-elves. “Dobby -- and Winky?” asked Ginny, bewildered. “Dobby says hello to Harry Potter’s friends,” said Dobby. “And Dobby wants the Wheezys to know that this is Dead Week for the house-elves too.” Ginny laughed. “I always wondered when you and Winky would end up together.” As Ron gobbled down a few potato crisps, Winky said, “And tomorrow is being Dobby’s birthday, so I hopes you is remembering to give Dobby some of his favorite socks!” “Don’t worry,” Ginny reassured the elf, “we won’t forget!” “Weird,” said Ron as they left the kitchens. The siblings thought they had seen everything by the time they reached the Potions dungeon. But when they arrived there, they were downright flabbergasted. For in front of them was the most unlikely snogging couple, and the two students they did not want to see kiss each other. “Hermione!” Ron yelled, “what is the meaning of this?” “Harry!” Ginny said angrily, “you’d better explain yourself!” But Harry and Hermione continued to embrace each other, neither acknowledging the Weasleys’ presence. “Hmmm,” Ginny muttered, drawing her wand, “maybe the Bat-Bogey hex will loosen these lips.” She pointed her wand at Harry. Just before she was about to say the incantation, Ron pulled her back. “Look over there at the blackboard,” said Ron. “There’s some potion ingredients on the board.” Ginny looked up, and read the words “LOVE POTION” in large letters near the top of the board. “So that’s it,” Ginny figured out. “The final potion of the year must have been a love potion, and Snape had them test it out, and just left them here. How cruel is that?” “Hey,” said Ron, “right below this, on the board, it reads ‘LOVE POTION ANTIDOTE.’” “That’s good,” Ginny pointed out, “I think I can brew the antidote potion.” So Ron helped his sister gather the required ingredients, including a bezoar, which he found in Snape’s private storeroom. Ginny, who was adept at Potions, brewed together the ingredients in no time. “The potion’s done,” she told Ron. “But how do we make them drink? Their lips are locked together.” “Just throw it in their faces,” said Ron. Ginny did so, and to her and Ron’s relief, the antidote worked. “Wha -- what happened?” Hermione asked, completely confused. Ron explained everything. “Snape again,” muttered Harry angrily. “I’m completely sorry, all of you.” “It’s not your fault,” Ron reminded him. Then Harry turned to his girlfriend and embraced her. “You’re the only girl I want to kiss.” “Not another snogging couple!” Ron laughed, as Harry and Ginny snogged in Snape’s private storeroom. “Well, Ron” Hermione smiled, “we can always do some snogging of our own.” “Where?” asked Ron. “It’s Dead Week, so all the good snogging spots are taken.” “Let’s go to our favorite snogging place,” said Hermione. And so Ron and Hermione walked back up to the library so that Hermione could return her book. She placed the book back on the Restricted shelf. Then, after pointing out that the Restricted shelf was obstructed from Madam Pince’s view, she snogged her boyfriend senseless. |
| Reviews 14 |
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