A Pile of Homework (open)

[ron]

Fifth year was already proving to be more than Ron ever expected. He had homework in every single class. Not regular assignments, either. Oh, no, his essays were not now just things he could throw together a few minutes before class started. These assignments already threatened every single moment he had of free time. How was he ever supposed to get anything done? Ron knew that he needed to watch his temper this year because if he annoyed Hermione so much that she refused to help him with his homework, he would certainly fail his fifth year. He refused to be in the same year as Ginny. It would be much too embarrassing. That thought alone had him in the common room late on the first Thursday night spent in the castle. He longed to be on the Quidditch pitch, practicing flying on his broomstick, but if he did not soon start working on these assignments, he would never get a chance to even be on the team.

Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Ron looked over at the open book on the coffee table. He currently was trying to write an essay about Switching Spells and the different ways they could be used. He needed at least four different uses for them, but the essay had to be three feet long. There was no way Ron could write almost a foot about each use, so he kept trying to think of more uses. Meanwhile, his font kept growing and growing as those suffering from a well-placed Engorging Charm. Not finding what he needed as he glanced at the book, Ron looked around the Gryffindor Common Room. For the moment, he was alone. He was not sure where Hermione and Harry were exactly, but maybe that was better. Maybe he could focus better on his own. But how was he supposed to focus with all of this noise? For now that his mind was not focusing on his essay, he realized how loud everyone in the common room was. Did they not realize the importance of this essay? McGonagall would skin him alive if he didn’t finish this.

“C’mon, Ron,” He muttered to himself, pulling his eyes away from glaring at giggling first years and turning back to his books. A scrap piece of paper next to his essay kept track of the Switching Spell uses he had found so far. Switching spells were useful for saving one’s neck. He filled a piece of parchment making up scenarios where swapping one thing for another could save a life, such as switching a dog’s bared teeth with gums to stop from getting a dog bite or switching a Hippogriff’s talons with dull claws like that of a kitten’s. His next use was to make something more dangerous, such as switching fangs onto a flobberworm. OK, that one kind of sounded like the opposite of one he already wrote, but he was getting desperate and he did not know what else to write about. There had to be more uses for a Switching Spell. Why else would McGonagall assign the essay?

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ron closed his eyes and leaned against the back of his armchair near the fire. He rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen his muscles. He had been sitting for so long working on the assignment that he felt completely sore, and yet there was still no end in sight. Keeping his eyes closed and trying to block out the sounds of a common full of people who did not nearly have as much homework, Ron tried clearing his mind of anything stressful. His thoughts drifted to the Chudley Cannons, his favorite Quidditch team, but then he thought about how particularly poor they recently performed and that did not improve his mood. All he wanted to do was grab his broomstick from his dormitory and just go for a fly. A short one wouldn’t hurt, right?

Status: Open
Word Count: 663
Notes: Somebody distract Ron before he chucks himself into the fire out of stress!

[harryjamespotter]

Harry had come to the decision that if he didn't find something to motivate him and keep him completely preoccupied this year, he would likely end up in Azkaban for assault against a Professor. He had never come to Hogwarts angry before, and though the Ministry situation had managed to scare him into being exceedingly grateful for his return, the presence of Dolores Umbridge had colored everything a distinctly Gryffindor shade of red since the first day of class.

He'd known from one confrontation with the woman that his only hope for survival against her was distraction. The problem was, in class the only real distractions he had were textbooks or homework and neither felt quite appealing enough to suffice. So, Harry had decided to do something unprecedented - something completely unheard of - something that would likely make Hermione faint of shock when she found out and probably make Ron question his sanity.

Harry had gone to the library in search of a book. He wanted a book that could distract and entertain him, but could also provide him with some form of useful information so that if he did get called out on it, he could provide some viable excuse.

The truth was, Harry had always rather enjoyed reading as a kid, as it had been a relatively harmless pastime - especially considering Dudley and his gang never came into the library. So surely there had to be something at Hogwarts that could capture his interest aside from a Quidditch manual.

Slipping past books on Defense reluctantly, Harry had wandered to a part of the library he had not recognized, and browsed the shelves. He had not realized he'd stumbled into Muggle literature, but what he found hidden amongst those dusty shelves brought a truly heinous grin to his face. He knew - oh, he knew he wold be in for it if he got caught with that in Umbridge's class - and therefore, it was the perfect distraction.

Taking the slender and short book from its nook, Harry checked it out and was immensely pleased by the fact Madame Pince barely glanced at it, something in her expression hinting to him that Muggle books were not as important as wizard ones.

A few hours of Tranfiguration and Potions homework later, Harry had decided to peak into his little book for a break and, after the introduction and a few pages into the first chapter of wise versus, decided he needed some human distractions before he devoured the entire thing in one sitting.

Despite this intention though, he tucked his 'extra-curricular' study under his Charms work that he had saved for last as it was easiest (And least infuriating) before heading down to the Common Room where the noise level was pleasantly high.

Finding Ron easily, Harry plopped down beside him and gazed at the other's homework before grinning. "Have you considered anything along the twin's line of creativity for that essay?" He asked, recalling his rather amusing anecdote about turning professor robes pink for a lark, knowing McGonnagall would likely catch to whom he referred and either dock or add points depending on how amused she was by it.

"Owls," Harry added a bit less cheerfully, "Are going to be hell this year," He jerked a thumb at his Charms homework, then nodded to Ron's pile of Transfiguration. "I say we get these to a halfway point so Hermione doesn't get too mad, and then we do some flying before our heads explode." He stated with all the solemnity of a man on his deathbed planning his final adventure. Too much homework was serious business, after all.

[ron]

When you have two best friends and they’re really the only people you spend your time with, you begin to notice the really little things about them. For example, Ron knew exactly who sat down before Harry said a word, without opening his eyes. He reckoned only Harry or Hermione would sit down near him, or maybe Fred and George, and since there was only one plop, that left Harry or Hermione. Hermione hardly ever plopped because she was too dignified and too girly. Not that Hermione was girly, not by any means. Comparing her to someone like Lavender was just comical. But Hermione just acted more ladylike than Harry would… which was a good thing. Ron was not sure he could handle Harry going drag. Back to the point at hand, the Golden Trio spent way too much time together, not that Ron was complaining. He loved every moment he spent with his friends.

Ron’s suspicions were confirmed when Harry began speaking about their assignment. Welcoming the distraction, he opened his eyes and leaned forward, the better to see Harry. The suggestion was probably a good one, but it just did not help Ron in the slightest at the moment, “Like what?” He asked, his face contorting into one of deep consideration. He knew his brothers probably pulled dozens of pranks that used Switching Spells, but he could not think of a single one. Ron sighed and relaxed his face, although he still kept racking his brain for ideas, “I can’t think of anything and Hermione isn’t here, otherwise I’d just get some ideas of her. Even if she was in one of those ‘Cheating is wrong’ moods, I would still distract her somehow.” He sighed, trying not to think about all of the other assignments that he still needed to do.

As Harry continued talking, Ron nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, you could say that again.” Ron already understood what the twins meant when they said how half their year had complete breakdowns. No wonder everyone became so stressed. There was just no time to get all of the work done. How were they supposed to enjoy themselves? Weren’t old people always going on about enjoying your youth because one day you’ll be old and won’t be able to enjoy it anymore? Where was the time to do that? A grin spread across Ron’s face. There was the time to do something fun, “Brilliant.” Ron said, “Halfway is enough that we’ll have done some serious work and we’ll need that break or else we won’t be able to concentrate to finish. Plus, as long as we make an effort, you know Hermione will help us finish.” Ron grinned more. Hermione always said she would refuse to help them, but whenever in a pinch, she was there, correcting essays and homework and generally just making sure the boys did not fail out of school. Ron and Harry were on their own for Divination, but all they had to do was just make up their deaths over and over (and over and over and over), and everyone was happy. Maybe they could survive the year.

“I’ve barely even had a chance to really use my broom yet and ---“ Ron paused, his ears a bright red, which was a dead giveaway for anyone who knew him that he was embarrassed. Ron was about to say that he really needed to practice if he wanted to make the team, but he stopped himself. No one knew about Ron’s plans to try out for the team. He wanted to tell Harry because he was sure that his friend would encourage him, but what if Harry thought it was a big joke? What if Harry laughed at him and told him he would never live up to Oliver Wood’s standards? Wood got signed on to a professional Quidditch team, right out of school. Oh, sure, it was the reserves, but it was a start! Ron was very tall and had very large feet, but Wood left behind some pretty big shoes to fill.

Trying to cover up the awkward silence that presented itself when Ron cut himself off, he coughed, looked around him, and then looked at his homework while he muttered, “It’ll just be good to get back on the pitch, you know?” Ron ran a hand through his hair, knowing his ears were still bright red from embarrassment.

WC: 738
Notes: I decide Ron’s assignment should be on Switching Spells since they’re repeatedly mentioned, and then realized that we don’t exactly know what they’re for, so Ron’s ignorance is also my ignorance.

[harryjamespotter]

Harry could tell Ron was having a hard time with this Transfigurations assignment. In all honesty, despite being taught by his Head of House, Harry wasn't very fond of Transfiguration in general. It was a devilishly tricky subject and the theories behind it often blurred in Harry's mind like complicated math formulas.

Still, Harry knew he had to start bringing his grades up, especially if he wanted to be an Auror. It was no longer about scraping by the skin of his teeth so he could concentrate on Quidditch and mysteries instead. With the need to further his academic career so that he could make it into the Auror program on his own merits and not because the Ministry wanted to butter him up, Harry had been looking at Transfiguration in a whole knew light.

Leaning over, Harry took a glance at Ron's current essay to see if maybe he could just expand on the ideas he currently had instead of trying to come up with new ones. After reading about fanged flobberworms though, Harry decided it might be better to leave the tutoring here to Hermione. "I think she'll be impressed with the amount of effort you've put in so far," Harry offered bracingly as he pulled his Charms essay toward him, thinking it might not be the best idea to let on to Ron he was actually finished his Transfiguration homework.

"Exactly," Harry agreed with a cheeky grin. "After the break, everything is halfway done and with Hermione to help, we'll be done in no time. Its the perfect plan, really." He winked at Ron before he set in on describing the fundamental similarities and differences between Imperturbable and Silencing charms.

He looked up when Ron cut himself off, as it was usually a sign that the other boy was suddenly aware of something. The bright red ears told Harry rather quickly that Ron had been about to say something he was either nervous or embarrassed about.

Wondering what on earth Ron could be worried about when it came to flying, Harry decided to let it go and nodded his agreement. "Yeah. One thing I really miss during the summer is flying," Harry replied, listing one of a thousand reasons to miss Hogwarts while rotting around the Dursley place.

Concentrating on his Charms essay became increasingly harder as he moved toward the half-way point, as thoughts of Quidditch and flying in general began to interrupt his thought process. Finally, when he'd scratched out a third flying related term that should have been something else entirely, Harry set down his quill and looked over at Ron. "You think we should bring anyone else with us? We could have a match or something." Harry suggested, thinking of the impromptu games at the Burrow that were always so entertaining.

[ron]

Frustrated did not even begin to describe Ron’s feelings. He never understood why they had to write essays in the first place. Magic should just be about waving a wand and having odd things happen. If he wanted to write essays, he would be a muggle… or Percy, the stupid prat. But no, every professor loved assigning essays which just seemed to be a waste of time where Ron could be doing more important things, like flying. The last days of summer were already here. If he did not get outside of the castle soon, it would soon be winter and he would dread being outside. At that thought, he glanced toward the window and stared hungrily. True, he could not see any of the grounds because they were so high in the Gryffindor Tower, but he knew that the grounds were out there, and that was good enough for him.

Ron did not really know what he wanted to do after Hogwarts. If prompted enough, he would say ‘Auror’ because that’s what Harry wanted to do and it would just be like they were continuing their adventures from Hogwarts. However, he was not completely sure that was what he wanted. He would love to be an International Quidditch Star and hold his own among gits who can’t even say girls’ names right, but he knew there was no chance for that. So as for now, he wanted to be an Auror because he just had no other ideas, but maybe this year would help him find his true passion, if he bothered to care enough to see it.

When Harry looked at Ron’s essay, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. He knew the essay was crap. That was why he needed Hermione around him so that she could guide him. Whenever they fought, his grades suffered because he turned in works like that. Luckily, Harry gave him a bit of hope, “You think? Yeah, maybe you’re right. After all, I did this all by myself, just based on what we’ve learned and this stupid book. Yeah, maybe if I have her look it over, she’ll help me finish it.” More likely Hermione would read the essay and be so horrified she would probably make him completely rewrite it, but as long as Hermione told him what to say, he would., “You know, I am more than halfway done this essay. I think I’ll just wait for Hermione to help me finish it up. Plenty of more work to do, eh?” Ron tried grin bravely, but the thought made him feel sick.

“You don’t think she’ll get mad we went for a fly and refuse to help though, do you?” Ron looked a little worried, because she always threatened not to help them when they went off and enjoyed their time rather than shove their noses in books for hours. “Nah, there’s no way.” Ron answered his own question, terrified that Harry would contradict himself and then they would never get outside, “We made the effort to work on them, so that should be good enough. Yeah, and we’re not really waiting until the very last moment. I mean, Transfiguration isn’t due tomorrow. It’s not like I’m starting it the night before. Actually, she might be impressed that we started so early!” With that cheerful though, Ron shifted his books to grab his Charms book and a fresh piece of parchment. Before writing anything, he stretched in his chair, pulling his arms, twisting them around his neck, bending his knees as high as they would go, “Gotta stretch before you do homework, eh? Otherwise I’d probably never be able to move from the chair.”

Ron nodded enthusiastically, a very happy smile on his face that Harry did not realize his slip-up. Apparently he was becoming more subtle, “Yeah, it was tough this year because I couldn’t fly with my brothers because,” He dropped his voice and moved toward Harry, “Because of helping the Order,” He leaned away again, “Usually we’re flying on our property almost every day when we’re not degnoming. Sure, it has to be low so muggles won’t see, but it’s something.” Ron never really missed Hogwarts like Harry seemed to. He got fed just as well at home, if not better, because his mother was an excellent cook. He saw Harry and Hermione every summer since both usually stayed with him wherever he was. Coming back to Hogwarts also meant dealing with whatever mystery the castle held for them. At his parents’ house, he was at least safe from adventure for a couple of months.

Realizing he did not even start his essay yet, Ron looked over the piece of parchment and wrote out the assignment in the title and then wrote his name under it, “That’s a start.” He was flipping through his Charms book to find what the similarities and differences were because all he could think of was Ginny throwing Dungbombs at a door to see if it was Imperturbed. If the people they were trying to listen to had silence charms on them, they would have been hit with dungbombs, and Ginny would be in loads of trouble. Yet Ron doubt he could write his entire essay about just that, “Huh? Oh yeah, like who?

[harryjamespotter]

Harry gave Ron an encouraging grin and nodded, hoping silently that Hermione would indeed help Ron out with the Transfiguration homework. Harry struggled enough on his own without trying to help Ron fix his - not to mention the fact he was only about seventy-five percent certain he'd approached the essay from the right angles.

"I'm pretty sure Hermione won't mind that we took a break Ron. I mean, its not as though we usually get this much done so early, so she'll probably just give us a pass for getting things started before they're due. Not to mention its just not practical to do all your work and never rest." He added with a cheeky grin.

As Ron stretched, Harry continued to scratch away at his Charms work, smiling a bit at his friends antics. He was just explaining in his essay that a Silencing Charm was intended for use on a person or beast in order to make them silent, while an Imperturable Charm was cast around an area in order to keep what was going on behind its shield from being overheard when Ron mentioned doing work for the Order.

A splotch of ink appeared on his paper as Harry's quill paused in its relentless writing while the boy fought to keep his temper in check. He still hadn't really forgiven Ron and hermione for keeping him out of the loop - the very least they could have done was mention in their letters that Dumbledore requested them to keep quiet for security reasons and that Harry would learn everything once he was brought in for the summer, but they hadn't even bothered to tell him that much.

Realizing he was going to have to rewrite his essay on a new sheet of parchment if he allowed the splotch to grow much larger, Harry sighed and set his quill back in the well so the spot could have a moment to dry.

Suddenly the urge to fly around with the Weasley's felt a little less desirable, but Harry did know he still wanted to go out. Feeling frustrated, Harry thought it might be best to head out now.

"Y'know, nevermind actually. I'd rather head out before Hermione gets back to the common room and stops us," Harry explained, to justify his sudden change of mind. He didn't really want Ron aware that he was upset - Harry was trying not to tick off the redhead this year, as a repeat of fourth year with all the Prophet and Ministry garbage going on would just be too much to handle. "Lets go grab our brooms," He suggested, gathering his homework back up. "We can work on this later when the sun is no longer among us," he added with a cheerful grin.

[ron]

Ron grinned. He loved how Harry thought. If worse came to worse, it was always the rule of voting. There would be two (Harry and Ron) against one (Hermione.) You can't argue with maths. Nodding along, Ron responded, "Yeah, we never do this much this early. She should be proud we did this much. I guess she's finally rubbing off on us." A little mean voice in Ron's head said that the only reason he managed to do this much work so early in the year was because of the simple fact that they just had so much work to do. Delaying it just meant more work down the road, probably at a more inconvenient time when he had even more work to do, but... but how much longer would they have weather like this? If it was gorgeous every day, it would be no problem to avoid a nice day to do work, but in just a few weeks, it would be miserable to go outside. In a way, he was being responsible by making this decision. Homework would always be there, but nice weather would not.

Never one to understand emotions, Ron saw Harry mess up his essay and half-smiled, "I do that all of the time. You'd think they let us use pencils so we could at least erase smudges, but no, now that means a lot more work for you. At least it's not very big. You can still read around it so you don't have to start again from scratch. That's not bad then." Ron shrugged and turned back to his essay, not realizing there was anything wrong with Harry. Even if he did realize something was wrong, he would probably just act the same way. Harry wasn't always this emotional. He usually was quite calm, unlike Ron and Hermione. Ron knew exactly how Hermione worked. He knew exactly what to say to get her angry, so that she'd glare at him with her brown eyes looking ready to shoot daggers at him, how in the moment she would get... Anyway, Ron knew how to deal with an angry Hermione. Not well, obviously, since it always ended in a row, but he was used to it. Angry Harry was completely new to Ron. Oh, sure, they had their fight last year because Ron may have felt a bit of jealousy (just a smidge, really), but they just ignored each other until they stopped being angry.

"Oh...okay..." Ron blinked confusedly at Harry's change of heart. Not that Ron was complaining. He was happy to have a reason to stop writing the stupid essay, but Harry changed so rapidly for some reason, "Yeah, you have a point. Let's do it before Hermione can try to stop us. And yeah, when it's dark, we won't have anything else to do but homework. Good plan." Grinning back at his friend, Ron started hurriedly packing up his materials. Thank Merlin Ron had his new broom for being made prefect. Sure, it was absolutely nothing compared to Harry's Firebolt, but Ron's old broom had been a hand-me-down, just like anything else, so it would have looked completely pathetic next to Harry's broom. At least Ron's new broom didn't look too bad.

[harryjamespotter]

Harry smiled thinly as Ron went on about how Hermione must have been rubbing off on them. It was comments like that which reminded Harry he had to keep his real study habits secret now. Ron would never forgive him for turning into another Hermione on him.

As though to confirm this, Ron decided to helpfully point out he could just write around his splotch. What amused Harry about this was the fact that, before this year, Harry would have. More than that, this year, the idea almost made him wrinkle his nose in a most Hermione-like fashion, though thankfully he resisted.

Rising to his feet, Harry stuffed his work into his bag and ran up to the dorm, depositing the bag and grabbing his and Ron's brooms, which he promptly handed over. "I've got a copy of the keys to the stadium for when we need it to practice. Why don't we pull out a quaffle and toss it around a bit?" Harry suggested as they made their way down to the Pitch before Hermione had a chance to find and stop them.

OOC: My goodness, sorry this is so short D: Also if you want me to edit this at all let me know - its slightly godmody of Ron cause it gets them moving pitchward rather than just lumping about talking in the CR.

[ron]

((My post is even shorter. Do you want me to start a new post at the pitch? Sorry for the looong delay.))