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Overview: A scene snippet from notes, originally intended for my untitled Year 6 take.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and other related trademarks and copyrighted materials are property of their respective owners. Use of such properties is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute a claim on such properties.
The uncommon scene of Ron concentrating on homework greeted Alis when she wandered into the Great Hall an hour before afternoon tea. Normally Ron had Harry and Hermione, or one of the other Gryffindors of his year, but there he was, clearly struggling with his homework.
Being largely empty, Alis figured there'd be little harm in approaching him and the Gryffindor table. Most of the others in the Great Hall were buried in their own books, napping or chatting animatedly with a tight knot of friends. As she stepped up behind him, she idly wondered how many times a Slytherin had been over at this particular table without rancor.
Peering over his shoulder, Alis saw it was Charms that he was puzzling over. The sixth-year text was well-worn and his parchment roll has numerous scratched-out lines. "You want to say that the charm is also useful for waterproofing, if you have the right material," she offered.
At the unexpected voice just behind him, Ron jerked hard enough to slam his knee into the table and for a long moment, all he could feel was a throbbing pain from his leg. "Argh! Dammit, don't do that!" he growled.
"Sorry."
Half-turning when the pain subsided, Ron saw the slender blonde standing there with her green-striped tie and the Slytherin badge on her robes. Damned serpents always sneaking up on you. "What do you want?"
"Aren't you quite the ray of sunshine today? I just came over to, you know, say 'hi'," said Alis. "Need help with Charms?"
Ron rubbed his knee, wishing the sting to go down faster. His recent humiliation in the duelling ring at the hands of this particular Slytherin didn't incline him to be good company around her, Hermione's requests be damned. "From you? No way." His expression changed from an unwelcome glare to shock as she straddled the bench next to him. A Slytherin at the Gryffindor table! What was the world coming to?
"You don't seem to be doing it very well on your own," she pointed out. "And Charms is my best subject. Actually, I'm wondering why Hermione isn't helping you. Doesn't she usually write your essays for you?"
"Excuse me, but Hermione doesn't write my essays for me," said a peevish Ron. "She just... edits a few small errors out. And stuff."
"You've said that the spell can 'be used to make a teapot hold more'." said Alis, reading from his paper.
"Yeah, and?"
"That's a Transfiguration, not a Charm. You have the wrong spell in mind."
Ron looked at her, then his parchment. Then to the book with the exercise he was trying to do. The parchment with his messy writing became a crumpled ball of trash for the House elves to clean up. "Dammit."
"So, why isn't Hermione helping you?"
"I'm out of 'Hermione Favours' for a little while," Ron answered as he unrolled a fresh parchment to start over.
"I'm sorry — 'Hermione Favours?'"
"Yeah. Favours from Hermione to get help with homework, essays and the like. I've been 'cut off'," he said, curling his fingers in air quotes.
"Sort of like having too much butterbeer," Alis laughed.
"Something like that."
"But you're one of her best friends. Shouldn't you have more 'Hermione Favours' to call on than most?"
Ron had a pained expression. "Let's just say I've had a lot of butterbeers this month."
Alis' lips quivered with amusement. "Might want to dry out some, then."
"Now you're sounding like her," Ron accused.
"Great minds think alike, Weasley." Alis stood up and threw a wry half-smile at Ron before she went back to her own House's table. It wasn't until later that he realized that a Slytherin had paid Hermione a compliment.