�What am I some kind of moron? Apparently!� he said while glaring past Harry at Hermione.

Harry just rolled his eyes and said, �suit yourself then, I�m going down to Hagrid�s.�

Hermione took this opportunity to move closer to Ron. �Ron, I know you�re mad at me. What I said was stupid!� Ron made a derisive sound in his throat. �Really Ron! I�I�m sorry. I like you, I do...I have for a long time, I was just to blind to see it before.� She put her hand on his arm, waiting for a reply. When none came, she ran off, tears in her eyes, to the girls� dormitory. She flung herself down on her bed and pulled the curtains closed around her. �Why did I have to ruin everything?! I am so bad at this relationship stuff! And I�m never bad at ANYTHING!� she raged at herself in frustration.

Ron regretted not saying anything the moment she left. He spent a great part of that afternoon muttering under his breath about girls. Finally, his stomach got the better of him and since he only had two assignments left to do�both for later in the week�he decided to go to dinner and leave off homework for the rest of the night.

�Hey Lavender?� Ron said clearing his throat while standing behind her chair, �could uh, you go and see if Hermione is ok?� he reddened when she rolled her eyes but stood his ground. �Please?� she smiled as she got up and headed to the girls dorms. �Oy! And Lavender? Tell her I�m sorry!� Lavender waved at him in a dismissive way and headed up the stairs.

Ron waited what seemed like hours until she came back down, his heart dropped when he saw she was alone. �Where is--�

�She was pretending to sleep!� Lavender snorted, �like I can�t tell! She doesn�t snore! Big faker!� She glared at Ron, �well? I did what you asked, I even told her you were sorry which brought a really big fake snore from her!� she slammed herself back down in her chair and proceeded to ignore him.

�Well uh, thanks,� he stammered, �if, if she comes down, tell her I went to dinner, yeah?� he turned and went down to eat.

****************

Ron spotted a very cold looking Harry and sat down next to him. ��Lo, Harry. It must be bloody cold out if you�re that frozen looking just from walking back from Hagrid�s!� Ron said while piling food onto two plates.

�Right,� Harry said not meeting Ron�s eye. He hadn�t really been to Hagrid�s at all. He spent most of the afternoon walking around inside the castle, mulling over the events of the past year. That is, until her realized he was being followed by first Peeves, then Filch. He then headed outside. Where he sat, staring at the whomping willow, until he could not stand the cold any longer.

Ron seemed to not notice Harry�s mood as he scarfed down his food as fast as possible. When he had finished eating, he took the second plate he had filled and left mumbling something about Hermione that Harry didn�t catch.

Ron slipped through the portrait hole and looked around the common room. �Hey, Ginny!� he said waving at her with his free hand, �could you do me a favor? Hermione uh�wasn�t feeling well? And went to bed, yeah. Could you please take this up to her? Boys aren�t allowed to go up the girls� dorms.� He smiled hopefully at her.

�Sure, Ron, no problem,� she said while staring at him, knowing something was up.

Ron watched her go and waited for her to come back down and shrug at him before sitting down in his usual spot by the fire. He stared into the flames, lost in thought. �Hey, Ron,� he nearly jumped out of his skin when Harry sat down next to him. �Caught up with your work already? Want to play a game of chess?�

�Uhh, sure,� Ron said grateful for anything to take his mind off of his problems.

Halfway through the game, Harry was glaring at him in exasperation. �It�s your turn, AGAIN! Really Ron, your not even trying! That�s your last night I�ve taken and your king is wide open!� Harry sighed and turned around to see what Ron could possibly be staring at. �Really! What�s with you today?� he said seeing nothing of interest, just the doorway to the girls� dorms.

Ron shook his head, trying to clear his mind of thoughts of how badly he�s probably messed things up with Hermione. �I�m just tired, I guess. I think I�ll turn in.� he said standing up. With one last look at the empty doorway, he headed for his own dorm and his bed.

Previous Page
Next Page
Main Stories