Although she didn't want Harry to get hurt, deep down she knew it had to be him who stopped Snape, and she was terrified for Ron. She knew they wouldn't have been able to disrupt the board and run over to him, but she still felt regret for not calling out and seeing if he was okay. She drank the rounded bottle and icy chills ran down her throat. She gave Harry one last encouraging smile and ran through the fire. It was such a weird sensation!She saw the flames licking her body, twisting around her, and yet she felt nothing.

She ran through the room with the passed out troll gagging."Please don't wake up, please!" she thought to herself as she approached the mile-away door. After what seemed like hours she finally reached the door and glanced back at the troll. My, my. How sorry she felt for that creature! She should start a club for the protection of trolls! Standing the foul odor no longer, she threw open the door and ran into the chess room.

_
Hermione's POV:

It was such an awful sight! The destroyed statue pieces littered the floor. How I wish I had a broom and some mending glue! And then I saw him.

"RONALD!"I exclaimed,running to his side.

What a horrific scene! On the marble stone floor, my best friend for a little over half a year lay ghastly pale, bleeding a bit. He had broken into a cold sweat. Kneeling beside him, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, laying his head upon my lap.

"Ron!" I whispered, shaking him a bit as a tear escaped my eyes.

As he slowly started to stir, I hear him attempt to whisper my name. It sounded almost along the lines of "Herm-ninny." A giggle escaped my lips as I pulled Ronald Weasley into an enormous hug.

"Hermione,gerr-off me!" At the stunned, strangled look on Ron's face I released him and burst out laughing.

"You were brilliant out there,you know," I told him," I could have never done that well."

" Thanks 'Mione. But you've done brilliantly too. If it weren't for you Harry and I would have gotten murdered by Devil's snare."

" Book smarts. A book could have never taught me to play as well as you did today. Trust me, I've tried when you and Harry always played. You were really brave, you know. You make a great Gryffindor. Sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off in Ravenclaw.."

"'Mione, don't say that! What about that full-body bind curse on Neville? That was brilliant! Besides, if you were in Ravenclaw who would do mine and Harry's work?" I rolled my eyes but giggled none-the-less and Ron smile back at me." Speaking of which, did Harry save the stone?"

Gasping, I grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him up. Together, hand-in-hand, we ran out of the dungeons. We dashed past Dumbledore in the entrance hall, and noticing rather quickly, we turned back around and screamed his name. He must have already known, as he said, "Harry went after him,didn't he?" and ran off towards the third floor corridor.

I had just noticed I was still dragging Ron by his hand. I released it blushing, of which Ron returned equally red. We mumbled our good nights, as Ron was to go to the hospital wing. I started to give him a hug, but it was quite awkward and ended up as a handshake. Then I rushed up to Gryffindor Tower to write in my journal. Ron wasn't always that bad, after all.