August 14th - Hogwarts Courtyard
Ron sprawled out over a bench in the courtyard, his feet dangling off one end, his hanging off the other. His robes were in a heap underneath his elbows to protect from the crumbling stone on the bench, and he was looking at his Transfiguration book on the ground in front of him. And that was all he was all he was doing: looking. Reading would have required moving his arms to turn the page, and moving his arms would have required sitting up and arching his back funny, and arching his back funny would have hurt and would drive his knees into the stone. Therefore, reading was not worth the effort, particularly when the assignment wasn't due for another day and a half. He had plenty of time.
Hermione walked into the open air corridor with the intent of heading out to the grounds to find a tree to sit under. As she walked by the courtyard, however, her eyes caught a spot of flaming red hair, and she looked over to find Ron...doing something. She leaned against one of the pillars and watched him for a good five minutes. No page turn. She rolled her eyes and snickered inwardly. Leave it to Ron to put on the illusion of the studying when his time would be better spent actually studying. She walked up and sat down on the bench beside his. "It works better if you turn the page. You don't sit there and waste away a perfectly good afternoon staring at the same page over and over again."
Ron looked up at her for a second, then returned to staring at the book. "Of course, if the goal isn't to read, then it doesn't matter." He continued to stare at his book for a minute, but he could sense the eyes boring into him, and he looked back at his best friend. "What can I do for you on this lovely afternoon? You're usually impossible to find on your clear afternoons, tend to disappear inside a book or an unknown corner in the restricted section."
Hermione held up her own Transfiguration book and shrugged. "I was about to disappear into this down by the lake. But I saw you, was stunned to see you studying, and when I realized you weren't, I figured it was worth bothering you." Hermione stared down at his Transfiguration book sprawled open on the stonework, and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Just exactly what is the purpose of pretending to read a textbook? I don't get it."
Ron gave up on laying down; apparently Hermione wanted to make conversation. Figures. Once he was upright on the bench, he shrugged. "Well, it makes you look busy without having to actually be busy. Then you don't look like a slacker, but you can be at ease with your slackerness because no one can bother you...except your overly observant best friend..."
Hermione grinned smugly. What had made them stop doing this those couple of months before? They had been joking so easily, then it stopped, and slowly it was coming back. Maybe there was something incredibly flirtatious in her face and tone that she wasn't noticing, and that was why Ron was being more open than usual. That could very well be it, it could. But then she thought about her voice, and the faces she could feel, and she doubted that. "I was in shock, Ron Weasley was studying out in the open. It was fishy. I'm just glad to know it wasn't you studying, because I just might have taken you to the hospital wing."
Hermione walked into the open air corridor with the intent of heading out to the grounds to find a tree to sit under. As she walked by the courtyard, however, her eyes caught a spot of flaming red hair, and she looked over to find Ron...doing something. She leaned against one of the pillars and watched him for a good five minutes. No page turn. She rolled her eyes and snickered inwardly. Leave it to Ron to put on the illusion of the studying when his time would be better spent actually studying. She walked up and sat down on the bench beside his. "It works better if you turn the page. You don't sit there and waste away a perfectly good afternoon staring at the same page over and over again."
Ron looked up at her for a second, then returned to staring at the book. "Of course, if the goal isn't to read, then it doesn't matter." He continued to stare at his book for a minute, but he could sense the eyes boring into him, and he looked back at his best friend. "What can I do for you on this lovely afternoon? You're usually impossible to find on your clear afternoons, tend to disappear inside a book or an unknown corner in the restricted section."
Hermione held up her own Transfiguration book and shrugged. "I was about to disappear into this down by the lake. But I saw you, was stunned to see you studying, and when I realized you weren't, I figured it was worth bothering you." Hermione stared down at his Transfiguration book sprawled open on the stonework, and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Just exactly what is the purpose of pretending to read a textbook? I don't get it."
Ron gave up on laying down; apparently Hermione wanted to make conversation. Figures. Once he was upright on the bench, he shrugged. "Well, it makes you look busy without having to actually be busy. Then you don't look like a slacker, but you can be at ease with your slackerness because no one can bother you...except your overly observant best friend..."
Hermione grinned smugly. What had made them stop doing this those couple of months before? They had been joking so easily, then it stopped, and slowly it was coming back. Maybe there was something incredibly flirtatious in her face and tone that she wasn't noticing, and that was why Ron was being more open than usual. That could very well be it, it could. But then she thought about her voice, and the faces she could feel, and she doubted that. "I was in shock, Ron Weasley was studying out in the open. It was fishy. I'm just glad to know it wasn't you studying, because I just might have taken you to the hospital wing."