Hello, all! This is a collaboration between myself and a friend! Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: Neither myself nor my friend own Harry Potter or the characters! If either of us did… well, there wouldn't be a fandom - or the books themselves, for that matter. They wouldn't be written yet! *sighs* Please enjoy!
Ron, Hermione, Krum, and the Mysterious Book
As Ron walked down a corridor on a harsh winter day in his fourth year, he caught sight of Hermione hurrying down an eastward corridor, which naturally aroused his suspicion. He followed her, attempting to remain as silent as possible. He saw her stop next to a tapestry. There was a person waiting for her there, but he was obscured by a suit of armor. Ron darted behind a large vase.
"Have you kept your part of the deal?" Hermione asked, slightly breathless from her hurry.
"I vill haff it tomorrow," the stranger said, sounding oddly familiar.
"But you said you would have it for me today!" Hermione exclaimed, sounding rather indignant.
"Vell, I cannot get it today!" shouted the stranger.
"Fine," huffed Hermione, "forget it. I ought to have known…." Muttering, she marched off down the corridor, past Ron's vase.
As soon as she'd begun to walk off, the stranger made a beeline for Ron's hiding spot. "Out, you. Vhy vere you listening?"
Ron froze, not daring to turn away from the wall he was facing, hoping that the stranger would not recognize the back of his head.
Hermione, having heard this, whirled around. "Ron," she called uncertainly, making her way back down the corridor, "is that you?"
Ron shut his eyes tightly, preparing for the worst. Turning around, he called, "Yeah, it's me." Opening his eyes, he was shocked. The mysterious stranger was none other than his previous idol, Viktor Krum. Now, strangely, the sight of the Quidditch player boiled his blood. He couldn't control his tongue. "You!"
"Ah, Veasley. I should have recognized the hair," said Krum.
"Hermione," spat Ron, "what are you doing with ...with ... with him of all people?"
Before Hermione could reply, Krum interjected, "And vot do you mean be that?"
"She shouldn't be messing around with guys she barely knows!" shouted Ron.
Hermione, not standing for this any longer, said, "Shut up, both of you! You're being ridiculous! You," she said, pointing at Ron, "have no right to tell me who I can and cannot communicate with; you," she said, pointing to Krum, "ought not to break promises! Also, Ron, I was not 'messing around with' Viktor!"
"Oh, really? Then why were you going off to meet with Vicky in private?"
"Vhy," interrupted Krum, "is he calling me 'Vicky'? Also, vhy do I feel as if I am the one intruding?"
"Because Ron's being an idiot, as usual," Hermione spat. "Why did you even follow me in the first place, Ron?"
The words burst from his mouth before he could stop them. "Because I was worried about you! Or am I not allowed to be worried about my best friend?"
Viktor thought, What on earth is going on? How did I get into the middle of an argument- did he just say 'best friend'? Aloud, he said, "Come, Herm-own-ninny, let's go-"
But he was interrupted by Ron shouting, "It's Her-my-oh-knee, not Herm-own-ninny! Get it right!" He could feel his ears going red. Why was he so angry?
Hermione, noticing this sure sign of danger, shouted, "Silencio!" The two males fell silent. "Now," she said, walking in between them, "you two need to work this out." Using her wand, she forced the two of them into an unused class room. She then told them that she was not letting them out until they had at least talked to one another in a vaguely civil manner. She then undid the silencing charm, left the room, and locked the door.
For the longest time they sat there, locking eyes.
Then Ron spoke. "I - I guess we should talk, so Hermione'll let us out."
Viktor looked up with an amused look in his eye "So be it. Let me just say that I understand vhy you acted like a three year old, but that does not make it acceptable."
"What? I - oh, never mind. Then just let me say that your reaction could've been better."
"That is fair enough."
"So we're in agreement. Let's go." Ron walked to the door and tried a charm to unlock it, but to no unlocking sound. "Hermione?" he called, but there was no answer.
"Vat…" said Viktor slowly, "did you mean ven you said you care for Herm-own-ninny?"
"I'm not telling you until you can say her name right!" hollered Ron, his ears going red again.
"Ah," said Viktor, everything falling into place in his mind. He thought, This - Ron; he is in luff with Herm-own-ninny. That is vhy he is so angry about her name.
Ron was muttering to himself, "He can't even say her name right and he's kissed her. Why? And, why am I getting so mad about this?"
"Because you luff her," said Viktor, having heard what Ron was muttering.
"What? I- I-" stuttered Ron.
"You luff her," Viktor repeated as if it was a common known fact.
"So what if do?" Ron's ears were a violent shade of red.
Little did the two know Hermione was listening in the entire time, using a simple charm, her eyes wide.
"Then vhy doesn't she know?"
"I- er... why would I tell you, anyway? I don't even know you!"
"It is obvious."
"What?"
"I apologize for barging in. However, I did ask her first. So you have no one to blame but yourself."
"But-"
"You can see it, both vays. It is easy to read a person's thoughts by following their gaze," Viktor explained slowly, as if he were talking to a three-year-old.
"Is that the only reason you know?" asked Ron. "What do you mean by that, anyway?"
"Vot I mean," explained Viktor, "is that you vatch Herm-own-ninny very often, and she watches you."
Ron blinked.
"Also," continued Viktor, "you two fight like an old married couple. She talks about you often, yet you argue."
"Wait, what's so unusual about friends rowing a bit? Hermione and I've always bickered, even back in first year!"
"You two seem to lean tovards being more than friends; you've just proved my point by saying that."
"I- I mean, we- no... I, er..." Ron blathered, attempting to deny it.
Hermione was outside the door; she'd been about to open the door, but curiosity won her internal argument and she waited.
"I-I just... don't know... what if..." Ron muttered something incomprehensible.
"Come again?"
"I don't know how I feel, okay? It's complicated..." said Ron.
With that, Hermione unlocked the door and walked away, her heart sinking into her stomach.
When she got back up to her dormitories, she slumped back onto her bed and sighed loudly.
At that point, Lavender and Parvati looked over and asked where she'd been.
"What? Oh - I was nowhere important…."
"Were you off with Viktor Krum again?" shrieked Lavender, nearly splitting Hermione's eardrums in half.
Meanwhile….
Ron and Krum sat in the room, not realizing that Hermione had unlocked the door. "When do you think she'll be back?" asked Ron.
"I don't know," replied Krum, "aren't you the one vho knows her better?"
"Yeah, I guess…. Well, she was angry at us... knowing her, we'll be stuck in here a while," sighed Ron.
Meanwhile...
"No," replied Hermione, a little too quickly.
She just got several unconvinced looks. "Do you want us to go get Ginny?" asked Parvati.
"No," said Hermione, shaking her head, "she knows too much already. Can we just say that I was with him, and that Ron showed up?"
"Oooh," squealed Lavender, "and then what?"
"Well... then we started yelling and I got angry," Hermione stated, giving in to the fact that she'd have to tell the girls a few things.
"And?" Lavender, leaning forward on the edge of her bed.
"I locked them in a room together so they'd talk..."
"AND?"
"I heard something I shouldn't have..."
"Tell us, already!"
"Well... they really had no choice but to talk, seeing as I'd told them that I'd only let them out if they conversed in civil tones…."
"That's IT! I'm getting Ginny! SHE'LL get you to talk!" Parvati then stormed out. A moment later, she reappeared, dragging Ginny.
"Ow- ow- what do you want?" Ginny then caught sight of a blushing Hermione. "What's up wih you?"
"Hermione is not explaining what she's going on about! She keeps giving us little details that don't tell us anything!"
"Well?" asked Ginny, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.
Hermione glowered at the lot of them, then told Ginny what she told Parvati and Lavender. Ginny was silent the entire time. When Hermione was finished, Ginny simply said, "So you know." Hermione nodded, blushing.
"Does he?"
"No."
"Of course not..."
"Great," said Parvati to Lavender, flopping down next to her on the floor, "now we can listen to two of them telling us nothing."
Meanwhile…
Back in the room, Krum had tried to unlock the door with a spell, but there was no sound of the knob unlocking.
Ron then fell silent, thinking about Hermione. Judging by what he knew about her - which, frankly, was a lot but not enough - this would either require a difficult spell or common sense. He therefore went over and tried the handle. To the surprise Viktor, it swung open.
Hermione was nowhere to be seen.
"Vell, that vos unexpected."
"Not really, knowing Hermione."
"And vot do you mean by that?"
"Well, we tried all the complicated solutions - that's always the first step with Hermione - then you usually do the simplest thing next."
Meanwhile…
"... is it really that obvious?"
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Lavender shrieked, "Will one of you tell us what you're going on about, please?
Meanwhile…
"You know her vell," stated Krum.
"Yes, I do," replied Ron. "May I ask you a question?"
"I don't see vhy not."
"Why were you and Hermione meeting?"
"That is not my information to divulge. You vould do better to ask her."
Ron snorted, "You really don't know Hermione, do you?"
"Vat do you mean?"
"She's more likely to blow up at me again than to tell me what you were meeting about."
"Vell... ve must keep this confidential.…"
"I promise."
"Vell, the meeting was meant for me to get her an object - a peculiar object."
Ron asked nervously, "What object?"
"It is something quite difficult to find, but I had promised."
"What was it?"
"It vas…"
Meanwhile…
Hermione was now sitting in-between Lavender and Parvati, with Ginny standing in front of her.
"You never told us why you were meeting with Krum," said Ginny.
"Well...the thing is, he promised me something."
"What?"
"Well, it was part of the agreement - he needed someone to go to the ball with him -"
"WHAT?" Screeched the three girls around her.
"I said, he offered me a deal if I went with him -"
"That's what I thought you said," Ginny shook her head, "Hermione, you really are unbelievable."
"- so anyway, he offered to lend me a book."
Meanwhile…
"A book? You were going to loan her a book?"
"Yes, I vas."
"You were afraid to tell me about a book?"
"Vell, it is not a normal book…"
"W-what do you mean?" Ron's eyes widened nervously, "Is it one of those that you can't stop reading- or- or- one of those that burn your eyes out? I- she- you-!"
"Relax. It is nothing like that."
"What is it, then?"
Meanwhile…
"So you see, it's an ancient book, and there are only a few copies left in the world.…"
"Uh-huh," said Lavender incredulously. "And he really asked you to go with him by offering to lend you it?"
"Yes."
"So what is this book about, anyway?" asked Ginny.
Meanwhile…
"It is a very old book, vritten in a language few know. I think it can only be read by those who haff half-kneazles. Does Herm-own-ninny -"
"Her name is HER-MY-OH-KNEE!" Ron burst out, "Hermione! Not Herm-own-ninny! For Pete's sake, get it right!"
"Does she haff a cat?" asked Krum, wisely ignoring this outburst.
"Yes, but what is the book about, anyway?"
"That's just it- no one has translated it yet."
Meanwhile…
"So you think you might be able to read it?"
"Mm-hmm. After all, Crookshanks is half-kneazle."
Meanwhile
"So she went through all of this to read a book that may be about nothing?" asked Ron as he and Krum walked down the corridor.
"Pretty much," replied Krum
"And why haven't you given it to her yet?"
"I am unvilling to take it off my ship. I fear that it might disintegrate outside of its charm."
"So why don't you just extend the charm so that it's portable?"
"... Because I did not think of that."
Meanwhile…
"So why didn't he give you the book?" asked Ginny.
"I don't know - I was unable to ask because your brother barged in," replied Hermione.
"Well, why don't you go ask him for it now?" asked Parvati.
"Because it's three minutes past curfew, I've had a long day, and I'm tired," Hermione said, going off to take a shower.
"Well, I'm going down to the common room. I've got a bone to pick with my brother." Having said this, Ginny departed.
Meanwhile…
"By the way," said Ron warningly as he and Krum were to part ways, "You'd better not do anything to hurt Hermione, ever. If you do, you'll be hearing form me."
"I vill not hurt her."
And with that, Ron and Krum parted ways. Ron returned to the common room and Krum went back to the ship to try and extend the charm on the book.
Upon entering the common room, Ron was cornered by his sister. "Why on EARTH did you do that to Hermione?"
"D-do what?" Ron stuttered, blinking.
"Follow her and mess up her meeting!"
"I was not following her - I was just walking around and saw them!"
"That's beside the point! Why did you start to fight with Krum?"
"Because he was doing something with Hermione!"
"Did you know what they were doing?"
"Well… er… no, but now I do… I was going to apologize to Hermione."
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"She's dead tired. She's getting ready for bed as we speak. Besides, she doesn't want to talk to you now, anyway."
"Wait - you talked to her? What did she say?"
"She only said that you acted like a fool in front of Krum and then decided to fight with him. Hermione then felt that she had no choice but to lock the two of you in a room together to talk things out."
"Ah. Well, she sounded angry at him, and I-I didn't want him t-to hurt her or anything…" he muttered, ears turning red.
"You do know that I'm going to tell her that."
"WHAT? No- no, don't, Ginny, please-"
"Chill," Ginny snorted, "I won't tell."
"That wasn't funny."
"But you do have to talk to her tomorrow."
"I'm planning on it."
And with that, the two departed for their separate dormitories.
As Hermione walked down to the Great Hall the next morning, she heard someone calling her name.
"Hermione! Wait up!" Ron skidded up to her, panting.
"Yes?" she asked icily.
"I... I'm sorry about... following you... and messing up... your meeting," Ron panted.
Hermione felt her anger with Ron evaporating. "You're actually apologizing?"
"Yes."
"Fine," she said, "you're forgiven."
Ron grinned, "Want to get some breakfast?"
"Breakfast in the morning! Imagine that," teased Hermione.
Ron grinned, "You're going to get it now!" He began to tickle her without warning. Her squeals echoed down the corridor as Krum rounded the corner. The Quidditch player blinked several times at the sight of Ron with his hands around Hermione's waist.
"Vat are you doing?"
Hermione blushed and Ron stiffened.
"Er… nothing. How are you, Krum?" said Ron, obviously uncomfortable.
"I did as you suggested and extended the charm for the book and wanted to give it to Herm-own-ninny."
"Wait, Ron told you to extend the charm?" she asked in disbelief.
Ron said in mock-offense, "Wow, I actually thought of something? Imagine that!"
He grinned at her.
She smiled, "Thank you both."
Krum handed her the book, kissed her hand, and left.
Ron looked grumpy.
"What's the matter, Ron?" asked Hermione.
"Nothing…"
"Ron, something is obviously wrong. You know, Ron," she said, her expression softening, "that you can tell me anything."
Well, he thought, no, I can't. You'd blow up. I get it now, Hermione. Why you said that. But... I'm scared. I wanted to ask you, but he got there first. I have nothing to offer. I'm sorry... I just don't like him with you; I want it to be me with you. I get it now... I wish you knew that you never were a last resort.
"Ron?" Hermione was worried; it was obvious that there was sorrow in his eyes. "Ron, tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing, really… I'm just regretting something I said earlier."
Hermione would normally press on but she knew he was upset. "Well, okay, Ron… but let me know if you need someone to talk to."
"I need to go somewhere," said Ron. Lost in thought, he walked away.
Hermione watched him go, biting her lip. She wanted to know what was wrong, but knew better than to pry. She, therefore, went down to breakfast alone. When she reached the Great Hall, she ate and left. After breakfast, she headed back up to the common room, since it was a cold Saturday. She snuggled into one end of a couch by the fire and opened her new book.
Within moments, she was completely absorbed. She learned of the secrets of the most powerful magic; she learned of the connection between animals and humans; she learned of many things; and she was so absorbed that she did not notice the combined effects of the scent of the old book and the heat from the fire had upon her….
After an hour or so of wandering, Ron decided to go back to the common room. He saw Hermione sitting alone on the couch, fast asleep. He knew now what he had to do; gathering his Gryffindor courage, he walked up and murmured, "Hermione... Hermione, wake up." She woke with a stir and looked up to see Ron silhouetted by the glow of the fire.
"Oh, hello, Ron," she said, blushing slightly at having fallen asleep.
"Do you mind if I join you?" asked Ron.
"Not at all," she replied, budging up to make room for him to sit with her, "but why the sudden burst of politeness? Usually you just plop down next to me."
Ron laughed weakly. "Hermione, listen, I…" said Ron.
"You've what, Ron?" prompted Hermione.
"I've been thinking lately about some of the things I've done and said this year or - rather - should have said or done and… I'm sorry."
Hermione stared at him in shock.
He, however did not see her expression; he was looking at the ground while speaking. "I should have asked you to go with me to the Yule Ball earlier. I should've said that I wanted to go with you. Y-you never were a last resort. I care about you a lot, Hermione… that's why I kept asking you who you were going with… that's why I was so upset when I saw you with Krum… that's why I followed you yesterday, when I saw you going off alone. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." His ears went red and glanced up at Hermione.
She smiled at him, "Ron, relax. It's okay. I know that you're sorry. You told me the other day, remember? I've already forgiven you. For the record, I'm sorry, too."
He blinked. "For what?"
She laughed. "For blowing up at you and locking you in a room with Viktor, maybe?"
"O-okay, then. How's the book?"
"It's great! Would you like me to read a bit of it to you?"
"Sure."
And, several hours later, Harry found the two of them curled up on the couch, fast asleep.
*END*
Please review! Sorry about the ending - it has to be kept canon… or vaguely so, at least.
If they seem OOC or American or just poorly portrayed, please tell me and I'll do my best to fix it.