Passing the Torch

 

 

Disclaimer:  All this belongs to J.K. Rowling, except for the idea, which came out of my twisted little brain.

 

Author’s note:  This takes place on Halloween in Harry’s fifth year.  A hearty thank-you goes to my ROX’n beta, Elanor Gamgee!

 

 

 

“Come on, Ginny, we need your help,” George pleaded.

 

“Are you mad?  After what you two did to him this summer?  He’d skin me alive and he’d never speak to me again!”

 

“Come on…you know he likes Hermione…wouldn’t you love to see those two kiss and make up?” Fred said, hurrying to keep up with her as she walked quickly away.

 

“Of course, but I don’t think this is the way to do it…”

 

“Ginny…please?  It’s our last chance to really get one over on him before we leave Hogwarts…”  George looked at her with pleading eyes.

 

Ginny paused and seemed to reconsider.  “It won’t be anything really bad, will it?  Nothing that’ll get him hurt?  Promise?”

 

“Would we ever intentionally hurt Ron, Ginny?”  Fred said innocently.

 

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at them.  “Oh…all right, but if it goes wrong, it’s on your heads.  And only because it’s your last year.”

 

The twins slung their arms around their little sister.  “Oh, darling Ginny, what would we ever do without you…?”

 

 

 

On Halloween morning, Harry sat at breakfast, once again between his feuding friends.  “Would you tell Miss Know-It-All to pass the salt, please,” Ron said to Harry.

 

Hermione snapped, “Tell that git I can hear him just fine, and here’s the salt!”

 

Harry said nothing, and just rolled his eyes.  He really hated it when they fought.  He didn’t even know what it was about this time.

 

“Hey, you lot.  How is Halloween so far?”  Ginny sat down across from them nonchalantly.

 

Harry sighed.  “Oh, just wonderful, with these two fighting again.”

 

Ginny laughed and accidentally knocked her wand into Ron’s plate.  “Oh, I’m sorry, Ron…”

 

“Putting your elbow into the butter dish again, Gin?” Ron said in annoyance.

 

Ginny’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she said nothing.

 

Harry shook his head.  Ron is sure in a foul mood, he thought. Hope it breaks up by tonight.  He looked over at Ginny, who was biting her tongue to keep from laughing, and looking at Ron.  Harry looked at him, and his eyes widened.

 

Ron looked up.  “What?”

 

“Ron…your hair…”  Harry managed.

 

“What’s wrong, Ron?  You look a little blue,” Ginny said, unable to keep the smile off her face.

 

Ron swore loudly and looked at his reflection in his spoon.  His hair was a brilliant bright blue.  “GINNY!” he bellowed.  She took off out of the Great Hall, and he ran after her.

***

Ginny rounded a corner and waited for Ron, and then she grabbed him and pulled him into the hall.

 

“What the hell did you do to my hair?”

 

“Just a little spell,” she grinned.  “But here’s the best part.  In order for it to go back to normal, you have to kiss the one you love before midnight.”

 

Ron turned red and groaned.  “Why did you do this to me?”

 

“Ron, look at me,” she whispered.  She winked at him.  “If you want to know specifics, look in Hogwarts, A History, chapter one, page sixteen.”  She kept her voice very low, but she had used the code word for ‘Fred and George are up to something’.  Raising her voice again, she said, “You’d best find Hermione and start apologizing, Ron.”  She winked once more and ran away.

 

Ron hurried to the library.  Page Sixteen of Hogwarts, A History contained a note from Ginny.

 

Dear Ron,

 

Sorry about the hair, Fred and George put me up to it.  If you want to get them really, really good, here’s my plan…

 

 

Ron shut the book and grinned.  Sometimes, Ginny is just too cool…

 

 

******

 

Fred and George were getting ready for the Halloween Feast and talking about their latest practical joke.  “I wonder if he’ll actually do it,” George said. 

 

“He’ll do it.  And Ginny is just too good at this.  Why didn’t we use her more before?”

 

“We were too busy putting one over on her,” George replied.

 

“Oh, yeah…that’s true,” Fred said, and they laughed.

 

Just then, the door to their dormitory banged open.  Ginny, flushed and crying, wailed at them, “It’s all your fault!  It’s all gone wrong and I told you he’d hate me forever!”

 

“Ginny, calm down…what’s happened?”  Fred said.

 

“Hermione was so angry with Ron, she hit him.  Hard.  He’s got a broken nose, and he won’t go see Madam Pomfrey, and now they’re all mad at me, and it’s all your fault!”  She burst into tears again and ran out of the room.

 

Fred and George looked at each other.  “Do you think it’s for real?” Fred said nervously.

 

“I don’t think Ginny’s that good an actress.”  George looked rather pale and sick.  “I think we’d better see if we can smooth things over.”

 

As they passed to go to the fifth years’ dormitory, they could hear Hermione’s voice yelling.  “I’M SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND!  HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?”

 

 

Fred cursed and they went into the fifth years’ dormitory.  Ron was lying on his bed, looking like Death had paid a visit but didn’t think he looked good enough to take away.  Blood covered his front and both eyes were bruised.  Harry was saying, “I don’t know what has gotten into those girls today…” as he held a cold washcloth to Ron’s nose.  “Ron, you should really go to see Madam Pomfrey, she can have your nose fixed up in no time.”

 

Ron cursed and said, “No way in hell am I leaving this room until I stop looking like I went ten rounds with an evil Bludger.”  He sounded like he was in agony.

 

Fred and George looked at each other, their eyes wide.  None of their pranks had ever gone this wrong…  “Hey, don’t blame Ginny…it was all our fault.”  Fred swallowed hard.  He felt sick.

 

“Really, Ron,” George said.  “We put her up to it.  It was all our fault.”

 

“You two did this to me?”

 

“Yeah, it was all us.  Really.”

 

“Could you come a little closer, I need to tell you something…”

 

Fred and George leaned close to Ron and he whispered, very quietly, “We…got…you.”

 

“What!”

 

 

Ron burst into laughter, along with Harry, Ginny, and Hermione, who had come to hear the big confession.  The twins looked at each other as comprehension dawned.  “Wow,” they said together.

 

“Kind of warms your heart, doesn’t it, George?” Fred said, drying an imaginary tear.

 

“Yeah…we’ve taught them so well…” George laughed and shook Ron’s hand.

 

“Hey, don’t congratulate me…it was mostly Ginny’s plan.”  Ron, still with blue hair, grinned over at his little sister.

 

“Damn, Ginny, you’re a good actress,” George said admiringly.

 

Fred grinned.  “Never let it be said that we could dish it out, but not take it.”

 

“Hear, hear.  At last we can retire, knowing Hogwarts is in good hands!”

 

 

The Halloween Feast was great fun that year, as Fred and George regaled Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny with tales of their escapades.  They’d managed to clean up Ron, but he still had blue hair, and all through dinner he kept stealing glances at Hermione, who blushed and couldn’t stop smiling.  Ginny caught Harry’s eye and motioned with her eyes at her brother and Hermione, grinning.  Harry smiled back.

 

When Hermione mentioned having to study, Ron (not so subtly) mentioned being tired.  Fred and George didn’t comment, figuring their brother had earned the right to be left alone for a little while. 

***

“Honestly, Ron, there’s no one back there.”

 

“I’m just a little paranoid right now.”  He grinned sheepishly at her.  “But I am sorry about being such a prat this morning.  Just grumpy, I suppose.”  He shifted his weight, looking embarrassed. “You don’t have to if you don’t want, Hermione…but I really don’t want to end up with blue hair the rest of my life.”

 

“Ron…I wouldn’t if I didn’t want to.”  She leaned against the wall and put her arms around his neck.

 

He blinked at her.  “Really?”

 

“Truly.  You’d just have to suffer with blue hair.”  She smiled at him and pulled him a little closer. Goodness, but his eyes are really blue up this close.

 

A little bolder now, Ron put his arms around her and leaned closer.  “You really…”

 

“Ron, shut up and kiss me.”  A moment later, Hermione was wondering if her knees would hold her up.  I’m supposed to do something now…  Dazedly, she remembered.  Her left hand tangled in the hair at the back of his neck and the forefinger of her right hand made a beckoning gesture.  She could barely feel the wand bump against her fingers as Ginny turned his hair back to its brilliant red.

 

***

 

Ginny sneaked back to the Great Hall.  Fred and George looked up, and they hooked pinkies with her.  “Mischief managed, Sis?”

 

“Aye, aye, captains.”  She grinned and sat down beside Harry, looking very satisfied, indeed.

 

“Ginny, remind me, please, never to get on your bad side.”  He smiled at her crookedly.

 

She smiled at him, and suddenly, Harry felt warmth spread from his belly through his whole body.  She raised one eyebrow at him and said, “As if you could ever get on my bad side.”  She took a goblet of pumpkin juice.  “To Fred and George Weasley…Long may you joke.”