Title: Ending the madness

Fandom: Harry Potter

Characters: Ron and Hermione

Prompt:Ends 3

Word Count:1818

Rating:K – Nothings really in it but she vilifies Ron in her head quite a bit.

Summary:Hermione is determined not wallow in her own pity as Ron dates Lavender Brown in sixth year. Right after Ron makes fun of her in Transfigurations and she runs to the bathroom.

Author's Notes: I am excited with how this ties in with the book. I had most of it written and then I had to open the book to check a detail and decided to incorporate it better. (page 312 HBP)

'I hate him, I hate him, I hate him' Hermione's thoughts seemed unwilling to move past that point. Harry had followed after her down the corridor shouting for her to stop but she didn't want to talk about it. She was just too humiliated. Harry had been there when she'd asked Ron out. He knew! He knew that she was in love with Ron and that Ron not only didn't fancy her back but went to the extend of publicly snogging such a useless twat in order to avoid his date with her. Making fun of her in Transfigurations had just, hurt.

She didn't allow her tears to spill over until she was comfortably nestled in the safety the girls toilet. This has to end. She had thought that this long arduous dance was finally coming to a close, that they were getting somewhere but now she knew she has read it all wrong. The electrifying touches, the lingering looks, she could have sworn there were moments he had wanted to kiss her. She had been so stupid, thinking all this time they had shared feelings for each other.

How was she going to look at him now? She had humiliated herself by attacking him with those birds and now she would have to see him everyday knowing he knew with out a doubt she was hopelessly in love with him while he felt nothing of the sort towards her.

It ends, it has to end. I can not be friends with him until I have got this infatuation under control. She took a piece of parchment from her bag and wrote on the top in large letters 'Other boys who are not Him.' She was tempted for a moment to write Harry Potter because he knew that if Ron did have any feelings for her at all this would be the end all and be all of slaps in the face but she couldn't quite stomach the idea of giggling on Harry's arm nor did she want to put Harry even more in the middle than he already was. Then there was Ginny who despite having a boyfriend would kill her.

Neville Longbottom, she scratched her quill across the parchment but quickly scribbled it out. Neville was too sweet and since she was fairly certain he carried a bit of torch for her she didn't feel it would be fair to date him out of spite to Ron.

Terry Boot The smart Ravenclaw often studied with her in the library. Oh but he was dating Susan bones. She crossed his name out.

Victor Krum Slughorn would love that, and she knew Victor would come and do it for her too, even if she told him it was just to annoy Ron, which it wasn't but still the party was that night and she knew he wouldn't get word in time.

Ernie McMillian, Oh but he was already going with Hannah as his date. Another named crossed out.

She thought hard as to who would irritate Ron the most, not of course that he cared. Her brain though of Draco Malfoy for half a second and she threw up in her mouth a little a the thought. She certainly wasn't that desperate to piss Ron off. Instead she wrote Zacharia Smith and not coming up with any reason to cross him off moved on.

Seamus Finnegan, there was a small temptation in that because she knew how miserable it was to over hear things in the dorm. That of course would imply she would have to do something worth talking about and while she'd kissed Victor and certain didn't think of herself as a prude she had no inclination to let Seamus and his smarmy hands near her. 'If I get desperate' She thought to herself and she left his name on her list. She did like the idea of him being in Gryffindor though, that way Ron might be there when she came and went on her date. Again, not that he'd care who she went out with.

Cormick McLaggen, he was a decent looking 7th year Lavender Brown had never dated. and perhaps inviting him on a date to Slughorn's Christmas party would be a small way of making up for that whole Quiddich tryouts thing. She strained her brain for every boy she knew and soon the list of boys who made it on but were crossed out went three quarters of the way down the page. She looked the few remaining names and after crossing off Seamus because really, she had heard about the sort of attention he paid to a girl on a date and she didn't want the reports that got back to Ron saying she'd hexed him from grabbing her arse. Let Ron think she was okay with a little arse grab if he wants. He certainly knew from Lavenders nightly reports that he wasn't opposed to it.

Yes it would have to be McLaggen, he knew Ron didn't like him for trying to steal his keeper position and he was in Gryffindor so it was very likely word would trickle down to Ron, if he cared to know, what a fantastic time they had.

That was that. She would end this pathetic mooning over Ron. She got up and opened her stall to find Luna Lovegood watching her closely.

"Umgubular Slashkilter got you down?" Luna asked her sincerely. Luna really was very strange and completely ridiculous, but if you got past that she really was quite nice.

***

She walked into the Great Hall alone having left Harry and Luna talking to each other in passage way outside the loo. She was going to do this. She was going to shamelessly flirt until McLaggen was begging her to go with him. She walked down the Gryffindor table until she spotted Cormick, careful not to search for the red head with the a certain bint of a girlfriend as she went. He wasn't there yet, not that she was looking.

She approached the empty seat next to Cormick and smiled widely. She had to steel her nervous a bit to do this. She felt like a fool, it was going to be obvious to everyone what she was doing she knew it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. 'The party is tonight and Ron is not going to break up with his bimbo of a girlfriend and remember he agreed to go to this blasted party with you weeks ago.'

"Hey Cormick." She said enthusiastically and with a bright smile. She remembered Ginny's long ago advice on flirting and that touching was good. So she ran her finger along his bicep before grabbing hold of it and using it for unnecessary support as she sat down beside him.

She remembered suddenly that when Victors fan club had hovered in the library they had played with their hair a lot. She twisted a lock between her fingers and batted her eyelashes at Cormick. She almost gave up right then because she didn't believe anything that made her feel this stupid was a good idea but then McLaggen was looking at her like a juicy steak and decided perhaps this crap actually worked. Boys are really stupid.

"Hey you. So glad you came to sit by me." Cormick wiggled an eye brow flirtatiously. 'Creepy'

"Hermione, my names Hermione and well, I just saw this empty seat next to such a handsome bloke and thought 'wow my lucky day'" She shrugged her shoulders slightly, cocked her head to one side and bit her bottom lip as if she were embarrassed at the admission. Batting her eyelashes again.

"Of course I know you're name, you're Gryffindor's resident genius not to mention a fellow member of the Slug Club." He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she couldn't help but shiver a little at this warm touch. He may be an over muscled idiot but he was a handsome over muscled idiot. She usually avoided contact with most people, most people being Harry and Ron. The chill that went down her spine was different than when she touched Ron, nothing gripped her stomach. It's just his finger dragging along the crest of her ear and along her lobe took her by surprise and she didn't mind the feel of it. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

She glanced around to see how many people were witnesses to her ridiculous behavior and noticed Ron sitting alone down the table a ways watching her with a sour expression on his face. 'YES' She turned her head back to Cormick with an new furtiveness in the task at hand.

They spent the next few minutes exchanging useless but flirtatious conversation and although she kept having to beat down the feeling that she was acting rather ridiculously and Ron knew exactly what she was doing from his still staring gaze. Cormick's reactions to her behavior helped alleviate this particular hesitation.

"So who's your date for Slughorn's Christmas party tonight?" Hermione asked in a sickly sweet voice as she ran her hand along his palm and looked up at him at what she hoped was seductively through her short un-goopy eyelashes.

"You if you agree to it." McLaggen eyes fixed on her and she had to stifle a giggle of triumph. It hadn't even been that difficult. Humiliating yes, but not hard.

"I'd like that." She placed her hand on his bicep again as she said it and she felt him flex it under her hand. 'Did he do that to show off of because he didn't like me touching him?' She wondered if she was going over board but all fears and self doubt were squashed when he winked at her.

"Meet me in the common room around 7:30. Wear somethin' pretty." He got up from the table and did a walked away facing her for a bit until he winked again and turned away.

'Did that pompous prat just inform me to wear something pretty?' He had to be joking. What kind of person actually says that? She played with her stew as she sat in her now deserted area of the Gryffindor table and wondered what items in her closet would count as 'pretty' and what she had just gotten herself into.

She glanced up in time to see Lavender arrive and attach herself to Ron's face. Hermione stood up and made her way to Harry and Pavarti who were chatting awkwardly. This was perfect. If she approached Harry while he was talking to Pavarti it could easily come up that she was dating McLaggen. Harry couldn't be counted to rub it in Ron's face quite like Pavarti and Lavender gossiping about the new couple.

"Oh, hi, Hermione!" Pavarti said overly brightly to Hermione as she approached.

'This was going to be easy'