Title: The Finer Things in Life pt. 1/4

Author: Deathangelgw

Challenge: Post Hogwarts- Ron and Harry try to prepare Hermione dinner with humorous results.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and co. belongs to J.K. Rowlings. Bless her heart! :P I waaaaaaaaant em!!

Warnings: AU, fluff, humor, sap.

Word Count: 1081 words

Rating: PG-13 at the worst!

Pairing: trio! Hr/HP/RW

Summary: Harry and Ron want to do something special for Hermione. But who knew Muggle cooking was so hard!

A/N: First, thanks to MA for the beta! I wuv yooooou! Secondly, this is for the triofqf on LJ. A special thanks to calliope_14 for 'leading' me here and to tarie for just being a great mod here! This is my first time writing Trio, so be brutal! Much thanks and feedback is very much appreciated! Enjoy!

'thoughts'

"Ron?"

The soft question brought the red-head out of the thorough perusal of the latest 'Quidditch Weekly' that he was going through, causing him to look up with a frown. He eyed his best friend and flat-mate with something akin to exasperation and befuddlement. "Yea mate?" he asked finally when an outward search brought nothing to the fore on why he was being brought out of his daily ritual of Quidditch absorption.

Harry fiddled with his quill, having been forced to stop writing up an Auror training report as his mind was bombarded with strange thoughts. "Um…do you have any ideas on what is next week?" he mumbled, glancing up quickly with caution before refocusing on the twirling feather.

Brow wrinkling in a sure sign of confusion, yet still trying to sound like he understood, Ron placed his now to be neglected 'bible' on the table and propped his elbow onto the wooden surface. "Er…no. Am I supposed to?" He asked as he smooshed his cheek onto the fist that had formed on the end of his arm as a pillow for said cheek.

Sighing softly as he sat back, Harry looked at his best friend with something akin to exasperation. "Ron…it's Hermione's birthday next week," he finally said, rolling his eyes at the utter confusion on Ron's face.

"Oh? Oh…ooooh! OH! It's…where did the time go?" Ron exclaimed as realization finally struck him with the force of a bludger. He sat up, and then slumped in his chair. "Well, ok…so what are we supposed to do?" He asked, confusion reigning once again on his face.

Smacking his forehead at his friend's cluelessness, Harry prayed to Merlin and some other obscure gods that he has the strength before looking at his friend again. "We…should…do…something…special…for…her," he said slowly, hoping the reduced speed of speech might penetrate the fog that seemed to cloud Ron when it came to emotions and feeling the feminine side of life.

Brow wrinkling as he took in the words, Ron stared at the table top. "Oh. So…what should we do?" he asked finally after a few minutes of mulling on the words.

Flushing slightly, Harry sighed. "Um, s'why I was asking you. Thought you might have something," he said in embarrassment as Ron looked at him with something akin to horror.

"Harry I don't get ideas! That's yours and Hermione's job!" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yea I know but er…well I was just kinda hoping…" Harry trailed off and they sighed in unison, both taking an interest in the table top.

The clock ticked loudly in the room, occasionally chiming the wrong time as the two considered what they could do for their best friend/fellow flat-mate. Finally, with great trepidation, Ron spoke up. "Um…why don't we er…make her dinner or somethin'?"

Silence greeted his suggestion for the exact time span of five seconds before Harry whispered, "You are bloody brilliant!"

Ron's head snapped up at that, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared at the now excited Harry. "S-say what?" He squeaked out, disbelieving the fact that he had come up with a plan. And a good one at that!

"Yea! We could cook her dinner! Make it all nice and ro-stuff-" Harry flushed as he changed what he'd been about to say. They weren't romantically involved, any of them, and most likely would stay that way. It was just too complicated to transfer their deep friendship to being lovers. That…and he had no idea if they would even consider it…

"Brilliant! And I thought of it too!" Ron said with a beaming smile, making Harry's heart skip a beat. He picked up his paper and straightened it out, grinning. "Right then…think of something and go to it," he mumbled before he became once more engrossed in the stats and profiles of his favorite team.

Staring at Ron before rolling his eyes heavenward in a plea for sanity, Harry knew then what Hermione felt when dealing with Ron on certain things. With a sigh, he went over to the cupboard, pulled out a cookbook, and began his own perusal in the search for the perfect dinner. Silence once again reigned in the room, broken here and there by the rustle of pages turning or by the clock.

Sitting back, Harry murmured softly as he looked at the different recipes. He glanced up and finally looked at Ron. "Hey, how about we try a lobster dinner?" he asked, smirking as the red-head looked up and blinked owlishly at him as if just waking up.

"Do you know how to cook lobster?" Ron asked doubtingly as he put down his paper once again.

"Er well I that is to say…um, no," Harry replied sheepishly as he flushed and ducked his head slightly, clearing his throat in embarrassment.

"Well then, let's not," Ron pointed out as he rolled his eyes. Scooting his chair over so he was next to Harry, Ron looked at the cookbook with feigned wisdom. "Hmm…what about f-flambéed salmon?" he questioned as he pointed at the page.

"Do you even know how to flambé?" Harry asked incredulously as he stared at his best friend.

"Right er…ok, well, what about this?" Ron pointed to another recipe and both looked at it intently, studying it.

"Doesn't look…*too* hard…" Harry murmured uncertainly, glancing at his red haired friend. "Should we try it?"

"How hard can a soufflé be?" Ron scoffed as he waved a hand, though his face showed his insecurity before he smiled brightly.

"Um, yea…ok sure! Tomorrow we'll make a soufflé!" Harry said with a laugh as he glanced at the recipe once again, feeling hopeful. This would be a piece of cake for sure!

TBC

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