"I'm going to catch that cat and skin him alive!"
"Ron, honestly! It's just a little scratch. Don't be such a baby."
"Just a scratch? Look," Ron said holding out his arm so that Hermione could see, "I could bleed to death!"
"Crookshanks is a cat, not a Velociraptor. You're making this into a big deal just because you hate him!"
"Of course I hate him, he keeps trying to eat Scabbers! Am I supposed to love the monster that is after my pet? And what the heck is a Velociraptor?"
"Never mind that. Harry, come here and look at this. Tell Ron he's overreacting."
Harry was sitting in the armchair by the fire trying desperately to ignore his two best friends and their endless fighting over their pets. He would rather not take sides but had to admit that Crookshanks did seem to hold a grudge against Scabbers.
Ron showed his arm to Harry with such an exaggerated look of despair on his face that Harry had to suppress a laugh. Hermione was right, Ron really was overdramatic sometimes.
"Look! I think I might have to go to the hospital wing and get Madame Pomfrey to fix it up. There's no telling what kind of diseases that bloody beast has on his claws. I could die of an infection or something. Do you want my death on your hands, Hermione?"
"Actually it really doesn't look that bad, Ron. Maybe you iare/i overreacting a bit," said Harry, once again assuming the role of referee, a position he found himself in more so than usual lately.
"Some best mate you are!" Ron snatched his arm back and glared at Harry. "Fine! Take her side! But when her stupid cat shows up with Hedwig in his mouth, don't come crying to me." With that, Ron stormed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.
"I'm sorry Harry, I shouldn't have gotten you involved. I just get so frustrated with him sometimes. Why does he have to be such a prat about things?" She started to tear up as she spoke which made Harry feel even more uncomfortable.
"Well, your cat idid/i scratch him so he had reason to be a little upset… not as upset as he was, of course. Look Hermione, I can't keep playing referee for you two. I can't pick sides. Can't you try to fix this stupid pet war? It's been going on for ages."
"I know Harry, but he's been determined to hate Crookshanks since he first saw him! What am I supposed to do?"
"You're clever. I'm sure you'll think of something."
Later that evening when Harry and Ron were getting ready for bed, Harry was startled by a loud scream.
"Ron, what's the matter?" Harry asked as he turned to see what the commotion was. Crookshanks was walking through the door. As the intruder made his way across the room to Ron's bed, Harry realized that there was a dead mouse dangling from his mouth.
"Get him out of here!" Ron shouted as Hermione peeked in the door. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Ron he's bringing you a peace offering, see?" Crookshanks hopped up on Ron's bed and dropped the dead mouse by his feet.
"A peace offering? That's a dead mouse! That could be Scabbers' cousin for all we know!" Ron said as he covered his pet rat's eyes with his hand.
"That's how cats show that they love you…they give you a present. He loves you, Ron. See?" Crookshanks hissed. "Well maybe not quitei love/i. Here, I brought you something too."
Hermione crossed the room to Ron's bed and dropped a sugar quill in his lap.
"Oh…thanks." Ron looked uncomfortable and his ears turned red. " Okay, I'll forgive the beast…if you get this dead thing off of my bed. Scabbers could be scarred for life!"
Hermione smiled as she grabbed the dead mouse and Crookshanks and hurried out the door.
"Well that was…interesting," Harry said laughing. "Now maybe you two can go five minutes without biting each other's heads off, yeah?"
"Yeah, maybe," Ron said as he laid back and put the tip of the sugar quill in his mouth. "We'll see."