It's OK Not To Be OK (But I Promise, I'm Trying)

Chapter 20

Disclaimer: don't own

The Hogsmeade trip was a rousing success, Harry thought. He was even surprised by Sirius and Remus, who had decided to come and see him in the village.

The Marauders were ecstatic to learn that Harry was no longer single, and the smirks they wore foretold much teasing.

They bought Harry and Ginny lunch, and then made themselves scarce, allowing the two Gryffindors to continue with their date.

Harry hadn't really thought of what they would do, but as it turned out, he didn't really need to come up with anything. When he and Ginny were together, he didn't have to try. They wandered up and down the main street, stopping at Honeydukes, Zonkos, Scrivenshaft's, and Dervish and Bangs, before they wandered away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, and spent the rest of the afternoon just talking, hand in hand. Harry told her more about growing up, his summer, his thoughts and fears on the tournament, and what he hoped to accomplish in the future. In return, Ginny told him more about her childhood, her fears and struggles, growing up the youngest girl in a family of boys, and what she had thought about for the future.

When they entered the Great Hall for dinner that night, they both felt like it had been a wonderful day. Neville entered behind them, leading Susan over to the Hufflepuff table before joining them. His ear-to-ear grin told them all that he had enjoyed his day as well.

Ron and Hermione had spent the day together by default, though it sounded like they had met up with a few students from the DA - Luna had joined them for lunch, and Blaise and Daphne had wandered through a few stores with them.

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Ron was a teenage boy, so he figured he should be used to his hormones playing with him. But as he sat at a table in the common room working on homework that his friends had all finished several days previously, he couldn't help but contemplate one certain witch who seemed to send his hormones for a ride on a daily basis.

Hermione Granger had been a staple in his life for the last three years, and he had never really thought much about it. She was Hermione. But recently, he had begun to see her differently. She had done some growing up, just like they all had, and he had begun to actually realize that she was a girl.

Their day in Hogsmeade had been nice, though he had been a bit put out to realize that with four of them pairing up, that left he and Hermione as the odd ones out. But he had had fun, and was happy to report that he hadn't put his foot in his mouth once.

He didn't know if he would do anything with this newfound insight he had, but he vowed to think on it at a later time.

XXX

Potions class Monday morning got off to an interesting start. Malfoy tried to get a rise out of Harry, but it was Ron who threw the spell, which bounced off of Malfoy's.

The fungus curse Malfoy used rebounded and hit Crabbe. Ron's toenail growing jinx knocked a chip out of the wall right behind Hermione, who ducked out of the way in barely enough time to avoid it.

Snape's arrival was slightly less fortuitous, and he docked Gryffindor twenty points before sweeping inside and starting the lesson.

Colin Creevey interrupted as they began, pulling Harry out for the wand-weighing ceremony. Harry stifled his groan and hurried to meet with the tournament officials.

He was glad to see Minerva there as well. She gave him a small wink, and he smiled. He avoided a fake-looking woman who tried to corner him, and went to stand next to the other champions.

"Ah, good, now that we are all here, we can begin." Dumbledore gestured to Ollivander, who was seated at a wooden table.

The old wandmaker nodded, and held out his hand for Krum. The Bulgarian placed his wand in the man's hands, and Ollivander nodded. "A Gregorovich creation if I am not mistaken. Hornbeam wood and Dragon Heartstring, ten and a quarter inches, correct?" Krum nodded. "Thicker than normal, and quite rigid, but if it works." He then made a fountain of wine appear. "In perfect working condition." He handed the wand back, and moved on to Fleur. "Hmm, this is an interesting creation. Nine and a half inches, rosewood and... my, oh my! Is that Veela hair?"