If I Could Change Just One Thing.

Chap. 1. Jealousy killed the cat.

Ron sat in the common room in his favorite chair with his head in his hands. When he looked up he saw Harry standing there looking at him with sympathy. It was well past midnight and everyone had gone to bed.

Ron put his head back down in his hands. "What have I done? She asked me to go to Slughorn's party with her and I go around kissing Lavender."

For a few minutes Harry just looked at him. Finally he asked the question he'd been dying to ask him. "Why did you kiss her?"

Ron had been wondering the same thing but had come to the same conclusion every time. "I don't know. When I heard Hermione had kissed Krum, and you had kissed Cho, and witnessed Ginny kissing Dean, I just felt…" he trailed off not knowing how to put it.

"Left out." Harry finished for him, now taking the seat across from him.

Ron looked up him. "Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Ever since I saw Hermione with 'Vicky' I felt… it was like… I felt like I…" Ron stammered. He took a deep breath and continued, "I felt like I had feelings for her." He said this last part in a rush hopping it would make the impact better, but it didn't.

Harry looked at him. Ron ran his fingers through his already messy hair. "I know it sounds stupid. I always thought it was like a brotherly protection, but when I saw Ginny kissing Dean, I had a totally different feeling that wasn't the same one I had for Hermione" He rubbed his hands over his face realizing the scratches the birds had left. He thought he deserved it any way.

Harry looked at Ron and smiled. "Finally." Ron looked at him confused and Harry let out a small laugh before continuing, "It's been kind of obvious Ron, I mean whenever she comes around you either get extremely nervous and barely talk or start having a row."

Ron looked at Harry with sad in his eyes and put his head down in his hands again. "I didn't mean to hurt her." He said barely above a whisper. Harry felt pity for Ron.

They sat there in silence for what felt like hours when all of the sudden they heard foot steps coming down the girls dormitory stair way. When they looked up they saw the subject of their conversation. Hermione stood at the bottom of the girl's dormitory steps with red blotches all over her face. She had tears streaming down her face and when she saw Harry and Ron she hastily wiped away the tears and her sorrow quickly turned to anger when she saw Ron. She turned to go back up the stairs when Ron found his voice.

"Wait!" he said as he rose from his chair. She turned around to look at him. "I did wait. I waited for you to ask me to the ball, but you didn't. I waited for you to at least ask me out, but you didn't. You had all those chances, Ron, but you didn't," Hermione said, more tears streaming down her face, "you didn't Ron."

Ron looked at her, surprised at what she'd just said. Hermione turned to go back up the stairs again when Ron finally processed what she'd just told him. "I tried," he said in a rather raspy voice, "I tried so many times, but it's not easy, it's not easy one bit." Harry took this as his que to head back to bed to leave them alone.

Ron and Hermione stared at each other for a long time. It was Hermione who spoke first. "I know it's not easy. I asked you to Slughorn's party remember?" Ron felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He looked down at his hands and she continued. "But all you did was throw it in my face and go off snogging Lavender. It took more courage then you think Ron."

He took a step towards her and said, "The only reason I went off snogging Lavender is because I heard that you snogged Krum and, I don't know, I felt… jealous." He said this last part in a bit more then a whisper. Hermione looked at him, to stunned to talk.

When she found her voice she said, "You… you were jealous?" he looked at her and with no way around it he said, "Yeah." She let out a small giggle. He snapped his head up to look at her and immediately realized it was the wrong thing to do.

"So you think I'm funny now, do you?" if looks could kill, then Hermione would have dropped dead right there. "You think it's funny that I was hurting just to think about you kissing Krum? You think it was funny how that's all I could think about for days and days?"

Hermione looked startled. "No Ron that's not…" but Ron cut her off, "Forget it Hermione, I'm going to bed!" and with that he brushed passed her and up the boy's staircase. As he ascended the stairs he heard Hermione sobbing down in the common room. He ascended the last of the stairs and into the boy's dormitory, not knowing how badly he hurt Hermione this time.

Harry woke early the next morning to the snores of Ron. He wondered if Ron and Hermione had worked things out yet, but knowing Ron that wasn't to likely. He got dressed and went down to breakfast hoping to see Hermione. Unfortunately he didn't. On his way down to breakfast he ran into Ginny. She had some butterbeer, no doubt from the kitchens, and was heading back up towards the Gryffindor tower.

When she saw Harry she smiled. He felt heat rise to his face at the site of her. He wondered if she noticed. He wondered what she was up to. Like she was reading Harry's mind she said, "Ron really upset Hermione last night. She refused to come down to breakfast and told me she wanted butterbeer. I didn't want to get her more upset, so I got her some." She held up the butterbeer.

"So they did fight even more. I was thinking that might happen when I left them last night." Harry said, his spirits dropping. He knew they were probably going to fight, but it still came as a disappointment to hear it. "Those two are to blind to see what the other one really feels. All Ron can talk about is how upset he got Hermione and how he wishes he could take it back, and all Hermione can talk about is how much Ron hurt her when she saw him kissing… you know."

"Yeah." Ginny said, apparently in deep thought. "Well, see you later Harry." And with that she departed. Harry watched her, thinking along the same lines that Ron was on last night. He thought of Hermione as a sister, and Ginny WAS his best friends sister. What were these feelings he was having for her?

When he got down to the Great Hall Lavender came up to him. "Where's Won-Won?" she said, looking at him as though Ron not being with her was the end of the world.

"He's still sleeping I think. He was up late last night."

She looked at him curiously. "Doing what?" her voice changed to a more serious tone.

"Talking to Hermione." After he said this he truly regretted it. Harry was positive Lavender's face was redder then Ron's hair. She turned on her heal and walked out of the Great Hall. He was sure Ron was in for a rude awakening or worse; Hermione was in for a fight. He thought he'd worry about it later and went over to sit at the Gryffindor table.

Ginny returned to the girls dormitory to find books, feathers, and glass scattered all over the floor. As she swept around all these she saw Hermione sitting on her bed looking at a picture. She ripped it and half and it too littered the floor. Ginny looked down and saw it was a picture of her and Ron at the burrow from over the summer. Ginny smiled as she remembered that day. It was extremely hot outside, and everyone had decided to go for a swim in the lake. When Ron saw Hermione in that skin-tight bathing suit, he was at a loss for words. He just stared at her with his mouth slightly open. Ginny couldn't help but laugh. He looked at her in a way that said "if you don't shut up I'll murder you." Hermione just smiled at him and he seemed to melt in that very spot. They stayed in the water all afternoon. It was when they got out to watch the sun set when Ginny had taken the picture.

Ginny was broken from her thoughts when she heard Hermione talk. "He hates me, doesn't he?" she said, tears rolling down her face.

"I haven't seen him all morning, but I don't think he hates you. He couldn't, not after…" she trailed off.

"After what?" Hermione raised an eyebrow; "Is there something I'm missing?" she looked very confused. What had she done that would make him not hate her? Then she saw Ginny looking down at the picture and a smile started tugging at her lips. She looked at the piece where Ron's picture stood. He looked up at her and smiled and waved. Just as he did this, her smile banished and more tears came tumbling down her face. She thought of that day, how much fun they had had. She thought that if this fight continued she would never be able to have a day like that in her life. That day she saw him staring at her. It wasn't the normal stare he gave her when she recited something from a book or named something in class before the teacher got a chance. No. This was the kind of stare Harry had given Cho when he liked her. She had blushed so much that day from all the times she caught him staring.

She was torn from her thoughts when Ginny said, "Oh! I almost forgot. Here's your butterbeer." Hermione took it appreciatively. She looked around at the mess she had made. She was so amazed at how Ron could make her mad when at the same time he took he breath away.

Ginny turned around and walked to the door. "I'm going to go down for breakfast. I'll be back up afterwards." And with that she closed the door and left.

Ron jolted up out of bed. He wasn't exactly sure what had woken him until he realized he was wet and saw Lavender standing next to his bed with a pitcher in her hand and her hand s on her hip with a face very much like Mrs. Weasley's. He wasn't sure what he'd done this time, but wasn't to keen in seeing what she'd do to him.

Ron couldn't stand the silence, "What?"

When he asked this her face got dark. "That's my question exactly. What were you doing up with Hermione last night!"

Ron looked at her and remembered what had happened last night. He sank down into his bed. "Nothing really. Just another famous Ron and Hermione fight." Lavender didn't look thoroughly convinced. "It's the truth! You wanna ask her?"

A smirk appeared on her face. "Yes. That's exactly what I'll do." And with that she turned and left a soaked Ron dripping wet in his bed.

Harry was sitting talking to Dean at the Gryffindor table when Ginny came over and sat down next to Dean. Harry was wondering if Hermione was ok and like Ginny could read his mind she said, "She's made a bloody mess out of the room, but she's calmed down quit a bit."

"Good. I'm not in the mood to handle an angry Hermione today." He was thinking about what could have happened between Ron and Hermione. Finally he asked, "What happened last night?"

Ginny looked up at him. "All I could get out of her was that she thinks he hates her. She was really upset. I don't know what that brother of mine did this time, but he's really done a good job."

"Well all we can do now is hope for the best."

Hermione had decided to go down to the library to try and get her mind off Ron. When she had dressed and went down to the common room she ran into Lavender coming down the boy's stair way. Hermione eyes filled with tears but she refused to cry. Lavender had a smirk on her face that disappeared so quickly Hermione wasn't sure she had seen it.

"Had a little chat with Ron last night did you?" she asked, her eyes shooting daggers at Hermione.

"Well it was more of a fight, but if you wanna call it that then yeah, we did." She turned to leave but Lavender wasn't finished.

"He's mine now. You had your chance, but you didn't take it." She said, a smile curling on her lips, "He chose me, not you. Not that I blame him. I mean, look at your self. Bushy hair, hideous clothes, and a book worm, while me…" she never got to finish that sentence because Hermione slapped her with all her might which left her hand tingling.

A smile curled onto Hermione's lips. "Don't forget who goes to Ron house every summer. Ron was practically drooling when he saw me in my swimsuit."

Lavender quickly pulled out her wand and Hermione realized she had left hers up stairs.

"Oppugno!"

End chap. 1. So what'd you think? Like? Hate? Please R&R!