Hermione sat down on the floor, contemplating her surroundings. Not only that, but the last few minutes as well. They had been such a blur. All she knew was this: how did it come down to this? How did this all happen?

How did she get stuck in a supply closet with Ron Weasley?

That was the important question. Going against her brainiac instincts, she decided to not find the answer.

Well, at least she knew why she was there...

"I can't believe you, Ronald!" Hermione screeched at the boy with fiery red hair who was currently glaring at her. "How could you say that? 'Fraternizing with enemy'? Please! Well, if you're so opposed to me having Victor as a date to the ball, then maybe you should have asked me sooner! And not as a last resort!" She added that last part quickly, her face flushing beet red with anger mixed with embarrassment. The boy in question was just staring at her now, completely dumbfounded.

"I...you...what...huh." He seemed to only be able to mumble gibberish, so Hermione gave up. Why was Ron so upset with the whole Victor-date thing, anyway? Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a sudden out burst by Harry, who had been standing a little bit off to the side during the blow up.

"I AM SICK OF THIS! I am sick of all this fighting and bickering and what not! Why can't you two just get along?" shouted Harry, looking tired and frustrated. "You know what? I've had it. You two need to get it together." And with that, he promptly grabbed both of their ears and started walking towards the nearest supply closet.

"Obviously, there's only one way out; we have to figure out this whole mess. Harry's placed the Stuck Insquequo Prestocharm on the door, I assume." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"What does that do?" Ron asked a bit stupidly. He wasn't exactly into school as much as Hermione was.

"Honestly, Ronald. Don't you read? I swear, sometimes you are a dunce." Hermione rolled her eyes. She was still mad at Ron for his reaction to her planning on going to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum.

"Don't talk to me like that. Not everyone is as brilliant as you are, okay?" said Ron. She didn't hear any bitterness or sarcasm in his voice. She suddenly blushed at the (somewhat) compliment, even though she knew his statement was supposed to be generally hurtful. "Sorry." He said after a about a minute. "I didn't mean to sound nasty."

She accepted the apology and began to think. She did that a lot

He was staring at her. Again.

He couldn't help it. He liked how concentrated she looked when she was thinking, how the corner of her eye would crinkle just a bit, how she seemed to forget everything else that was happening in the world around her. He thought he should probably say something to break to uncomfortable pause between them.

"Do you want to know why I flipped out?" Hermione whipped her head around to look at him.

"What?"

"I yelled because I was...I was...ah, you'll think it's stupid." He looked downwards, almost guiltily. In retrospect, he had been a bit of a git towards Hermione and now he felt terrible.

"No, I won't." Seeing his doubtful look, she gently touched his arm. "I promise."

He blushed at the contact. "I- um- well... It's because I was jealous." He gave a tiny sigh. "Told you it was stupid."

She gave him a small smile. "Is that really what you think?" She wasn't being condescending, he could tell. "Well, I can tell you: it's definitely not stupid."

"Really? I mean, it's just that...I really wanted to go with you to the ball, but I thought you'd say no or that someone had already asked you. So I didn't ask, even though I should have." He paused slightly. "I guess I just should have gone for it, even if there was a chance you'd say no."

Hermione was quiet for a while, letting all this information sink in. It was a lot to handle. Finally, she spoke. "Oh Ron, you're such a boy." She giggled slightly, giving him a light punch on the arm. "You should have just asked. I most likely would've said yes." She thought on what to say next. "You know, a little while after the Yule Ball was announced, maybe two-three weeks after, I hadn't been asked by anyone yet, and I was really upset. Then all of the sudden, here comes Viktor Krum asking me to accompany him- how's a girl to say no?"

"No, thanks."

"Ron, I was being hypothetical."

"Oh."

Hermione cleared her throat. "Anyways, I accepted. It didn't even matter that I didn't really like him. I was just so desperate, you know? It's so stupid, he can't even say my name right. I mean what's so hard about Hermione? It's not like my name is Shadafanglahame or something - I'm rambling, aren't I?" She said plainly.

"A bit. It's okay though. I get the point." Hermione looked down, and Ron looked up. She secretly noticed his gaze and blushed for the second time in the bloody closet. Hermione's head snapped up. She had forgotten they were still in the closet.

"Thanks for understanding." She shot him a wide smile. "Say, Ron. I think we've figured this whole mess out." She said slyly. "What's say you?"

Ron soon caught on. "Oh, I'd definitely say we have figured this out." He reached for the door handle. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

Ron turned the door knob, hearing a satisfying click as Ron pushed and the door opened.

"Finally. What you guys said- that was like a soap opera." said Harry who had been sitting across from the closet the whole time.

"What's a soap opera?" asked Ron.

"It's something my Aunt Horseface watches whenever she feels bad about herself."

"Okay."