What Would You Wish For?

The next day Ron woke and showered. Demona popped in when he was shaving. He stared at her for several minutes until she grinned. “It won’t work on me. Or anyone like me.” She said.



‘What do you mean?” He asked.



“Any female who isn’t your kind will be blank to you. Animals of course, but mermaids and giants, goblins, trolls, ghosts and inferi, that sort of thing. Oh and Veela as well. They don’t give subtle signals, they actively try and draw men in so wondering about them is pointless.” She confirmed.



“But anyone else I will be able to understand right?” He finished in the loo and went to put on his shoes. She followed him lazily.



“Oh yes, female teachers, students, even family members. Any female you come into contact with, you will be able to understand little female nuances and hidden meanings.” She told him.



“Exactly how will I understand it?” He realized he should have confirmed this before making his wish, but he knew Demona was trustworthy.



“You will feel it yourself.” She said.



Satisfied that he would be fine, she left him to his day. In his uniform and with his book bag in hand, he left for breakfast. He was just past the stairs when he saw Hermione in her favorite chair as usual waiting for him and Harry.



As he approached her, Ron felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over him. He was stunned and speechless. He had thought Hermione was jealous over his not needing her help but she was sad about it.



“Hermione?” He walked over and sat down in the chair facing her. “Are you alright?”



“Yes, Ron I’m fine.” She said. Deceit joined the sadness he felt.



“No, you’re not. What’s wrong?” The sadness increased as he met her eyes. Normally that glare of hers would make him look away, but now he knew what was behind it. She didn’t want to talk about it, but he also knew that she needed to.



“Nothing is wrong Ron.” She said sharply. “Don’t you have some studying to do?” Ron wasn’t prepared for the surge of neglect to fill him up, but suddenly things started making sense.



“Hermione, are you upset because I don’t need your help with classes?” He asked. “Did you honestly think that I don’t need you as a friend anymore because of that?” Confusion filled him this time. “Hermione I am not your friend because you help me, although I am grateful for everything you have done for me over the years, that is not why I value you.”



“What do you mean?” She asked, still wallowing in confusion. The sadness increased and Ron felt his heart splitting as a tear fell down her cheek.



“Do you like being associated with because people want to copy notes or go over their homework?” He asked.



“No, but it was nice to have been such as asset for so long.” She said.



“Hermione, you stand by me and Harry when everyone else turns away. You believe us no matter what anyone else says. You always cheered every quidditch match. You tell us outright when we act like prats.” Ron rattled off.



“You tell us the truth no matter what.” Harry had joined them and began adding to the list. “You let us know when something we do is foolish and do it with us regardless. You have earned back points we’ve lost. You see us at our worst and still decided to call us friends.”



She was looking back and forth from one to the other. “Hermione, we could go on for some time.” Ron told her. “You are not our friend because we need help with homework. We would never use you that way.” Ron felt his own heart swell, and another tear fell down her cheek. “We always need you around, that isn’t going to change.”



“Thank you.” It came out in a mere squeak, but both boys heard her and after a few tight hugs the trio left for breakfast. Ron gave a wink to Demona as they left the common room. The genie settled into the chair they just vacated. Yes, Ron would do well with this wish too.



Ron was aware of his surroundings with much more intensity now. The feelings that came around him at first were overwhelming but he quickly learned to separate them before the jumble drove him mental.



Anxiety over hair, make up and self esteem were so high that Ron felt like laughing at every girl he came into contact with. They put way too much emphasis on their looks as far as he was concerned. Looks only got you so far, if you had nothing on common what did it matter if you looked good. He had learned that lesson from Lavender last year. For all that she was lovely, she really couldn’t hold a conversation with him on anything. Aside from a physical attraction to each other, they didn’t have much in common.



He felt his confidence growing as he opened doors or allowed groups of girls to walk ahead of him. He felt his sisters impatience when he took too long at breakfast with a tray, then her surprise when he rushed and gave it to her. Hermione was also surprised at his actions and Parvati as well when he let her have first crack at the juice jug they both reached for. When it proved to be full and heavy he offered to pour for her, then feeling eyes on him, asking if any other ladies needed their glasses filled. Harry’s grin and subtle shake of his head was met with the biggest smile Ron could muster.



Potions turned out to be the real surprise of the day. They hurried about the room getting ingredients. Ron checked his set up and then walked to the storage closet to fetch the last root he needed. Pansy Parkinson was on her toes reaching for a jar.



“Can I get that for you?” He said. She turned her head and Ron felt a new heat was over him. He gave her a small smile, and she blushed. He felt her shyness as she shook her head.



“No, I’m fine.” She turned back and rose on her toes, stretching to reach the jar. He knew she was lying, but he also knew she wasn’t expecting him to do anything else.



He moved a few steps closer to stand behind her, reached out, effortlessly took the jar down and offered it to her. The warmth increased he gave her a smile as she took the jar in both hands, cradling it. “Thank you.” She said.



“Your welcome.” He didn’t move, he just stood there looking at her. He took a perverted delight in her embarrassment. He stayed where he was until she walked away back to her table.



He quickly found the jar he needed and went to his table. While he chopped and diced, he thought about Pansy’s reaction. That warmth he felt was attraction, he knew it was. There was no confusing him this time. He knew Pansy Parkinson was attracted to him. It was a bit of a surprise, but then again, he never would have thought Hermione was so insecure about her own value when it came to the three of them.



He looked up from his cutting board and saw she was watching him. He gave her a small smile, which she half returned and quickly went back to her potion.



Ron smiled bigger and continued his own potion. He added and stirred, keeping an eye out for the steam that would rise soon. Just as it did he added the chopped roots then let his eyes drift back over to hers. She was stirring as well and watching him again.



He decided to take a chance and gave her a wink. She blushed and looked down at her textbook, flipping the pages. Ron grinned and focused on his potion. Ron was sure she had taken a liking to him, but he didn’t want to assume something. Finding someone pleasing to the eyes didn’t mean there was any interest.



“I think she’s a cute one.” He tried not to look to closely at her. Focusing on an empty chair would no doubt make him seem nutters. His eyes moved around the room and saw that everyone was distracted with such a complex potion.



“She’s looking at you again.” Demona told him. He let his eyes glance up and saw her watching him, then she leaned over and whispered to Millicent. Both girls looked his way then dropped their heads.



He set his potion to the brewing phase then raised a hand. “The lavatory Professor?” He asked when Professor Snape passed by. With a nod from his teacher he looked Demona in the eye and she followed him out of the class down the corridor.



“They were talking about me, I know they were.” He told her as he stood up against a urinal.



“Of course they were.” Demona said, waiting until she head the sink start to turn around. “Did you think they found your slicing and dicing seductive?”



“What on earth would they be saying?” He faced her. “What is it that girls talk about like that?”



“I can find out.” She said, following him back to the class room.



“I am not wasting my last wish on something as trivial as that.” He said. He had a thought to what he wanted to use his last wish for, but he wasn’t going to tell her just yet.



“Ron,” she looked at him as he settled into his chair and stirred hs potion, “I can use my magic anytime I want. I just can’t refuse your wishes.” She walked away and settled herself on the table Pansy and Millicent were using.



Ron continued with his brewing, trying not to be distracted by Demona sitting could see that they both looked talking about. He could see that they both looked his way often enough while they talked.



The rest of the day Demona was nowhere to be seen. He could have called her at anytime, but he didn’t like to. He attributed it to a dog whistle and he didn’t want to treat her that way. Demona was something special, a good friend to him even though she had to power to make his life as miserable as hers had been.



He thought about Demona constantly and wondered what the future held for her. She was immortal so she probably didn’t think as much on it as he was. She would merely wait until she was released from the watch again, but it saddened him to imagine a real tosser getting a hold of that watch.



She had such a lust for life. He watched her at times when he could seeing how she took in nature. She loved being outside, but he imagined that had to do with being inside a watch for years on end. She loved to people watch too and was always spying on people, listening to the personal dramas of everyone around her. She found the younger girls amusing and found the older girls were in denial a lot. She thought the young boys were immature and the older boys even more immature. She had developed a respect for Harry, and his sister. She had learned to understand Hermione, and felt admiration for Neville. She still didn’t take too kindly to Seamus, but then again Seamus would get whatever he deserved if he continued the way he was behaving.



He was in his room finishing up the last of his homework when Demona popped into view on the foot of the bed. “Oh Ron, I just love sinister matchmaking methods.”