Title: A Certain Tall, Red-haired Gryffindor

Author: Lady Christina

Rating: G

Summary: A fluffy fic about everyone's favorite (female) 
Hufflepuff, Susan Bones and her quest for a certain tall, 
red-haired Gryffindor

Note: Did I spell 'basilisk' right? My HP books are two 
states away, so I couldn't check on the spelling. I hope so . . 
.
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, names, and places 
belong to J.K. Rowling and her publishers. 

Archive: Fanfiction.net, others please ask first.

Feedback: Yes please!
 
Susan Bones flopped into an armchair in the Hufflepuff 
Common Room late one winter night. She sighed, pulling 
her Charms text closer to her. Try as she might, she 
couldn't focus her mind on any kind of charm, be they 
Banishing or Retrieving. Instead, she was thinking about a 
certain tall, red-haired Gryffindor. Susan had taken a fancy-
-if you want to call it that--to Ron Weasley in the winter of 
their second year, right when everyone thought his best 
friend, Harry Potter, was the Heir of Slytherin, and was 
setting a basilisk on the students. 

That winter, Susan found herself sticking up for Potter, not 
because she liked him--not in the slightest--but because she 
didn't think the Ron would hang around with someone who 
was truly evil.

It was now a full two years later, and although her crush 
had not subsided, (if anything, it had grown,) Ron hadn't 
noticed her in the slightest.

The Yule Ball was coming up, and she wanted Ron to ask 
her more then anything in the world.

He won't ask me to the Yule Ball, Susan thought bitterly. 
He can't see past The Know-It-All of Gryffindor, his best 
friend for the past four years, bushy-haired Hermione 
Granger. Why can't he see me, Susan Bones? I would never 
treat him like she does . . .

Susan had been alone practically her whole childhood; her 
parents were killed by You-Know-Who when she was only 
a few months old, and since then she lived with various 
foster families. Everything was fine, until she first started 
exhibiting magic at the age of ten. Then, no family would 
take her; no one wanted to live with, let along adopt, a 
witch, albeit an untrained one. 

Finally, the Ministry decided to do something for Susan. 
They told her they just wanted to help her, but she knew 
they were just doing it because they felt obligated. Her 
parents were the second-strongest couple working for 
Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, the first being the Lily 
and James Potter.

Finally, the Ministry of Magic decided to ask Joan Figg to 
take care of her. Joan was more then welcome to; her sister, 
Arabella, had been close friends with Susan's parents, and 
felt that this was the least she could do. Joan often 
entertained Susan with stories about her parents, and 
sometimes Arabella chimed in. Arabella tended to keep 
quite though; Susan figured the memory of the Bones', and 
seeing Susan was too much for her sometimes.

Susan loved Joan for what she had done for her, even if it 
was only out of pity. However, she was very overprotective 
of Susan, and didn't let her out much over holidays. 

Because of this, Susan felt she desperately needed Ron's 
companionship; Ron was her first love. Susan knew she'd 
be lucky to win his friendship, and it would take a miracle 
for something more then that. All her efforts to get him to 
notice her seemed to be in vain, because all he could see 
was Hermione.

She's always mean to him, and they seem to get into 
arguments every other day. I honestly don't understand 
what he sees in her, unless he just uses her for his 
homework . . . But Ron would never do that, because he's 
fair and just. After all, he's Harry Potter's best friend! 

And so is Hermione, a nagging voice in the back of her 
head reminded her.

Susan knocked her Charms text on the floor in frustration, 
and sat in her chair, too angry to move. Suddenly, someone 
was handing it to her. She looked up quickly, and came 
face to face with Justin Finch-Fletchly. As she looked at 
him, she thought she noticed a slight blush creep about his 
cheeks.

Weasley blush? What are you thinking Susan? she berated 
herself. The next thing you'll think you notice is that he has 
grown red hair and sprouted freckles.

"I've really got to stop thinking about Ron," she mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Justin, extending the Charms book 
towards her.

"Er, nothing. Thanks for picking up my book, Justin."

"Sure, anytime."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be heading to bed 
now, it's getting quite late. Good night Justin." She turned 
towards the stairs that lead to the girls dormitories, when 
Justin called out to her.



"Susan?"

"Yes," she asked, turning around to face him again. Even 
though she stood a good five feet away from him, she could 
definitely see that he was blushing now.

"Erm, would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" 
Susan felt blood rush to her cheeks, and their color began to 
match Justin's. 

"Yes, Justin. That would be nice," she said, smiling 
sincerely at him.

"Oh! Okay! That's great! I'll see you tomorrow then Susan. 
Good night!" He turned towards his friends, a look of relief 
and triumph across his face.

"Good night, Justin," Susan said quietly, then climbed the 
stairs to her dormitory. She fell asleep quickly, and, for the 
first time in two years, she didn't dream about tall, red-
haired Gryffindors.

==Exitus==