A/N: I do not own any of the characters, nor the aspect of Harry Potter. (If only... >>)

"Are you sure Ron?" Hermione asked, looking down at his maroon sweater with a big 'R' printed on it.

"Yes, Hermione! Your freezing, take it." said Ron, smiling at her.

"All right, if you say so..." she said, nodding. She tugged on the sweater a second time and smiled up at him. "Thank you,"

"Your welcome," he said, continuing to smile at her.

Hermione smiled back and walked out the Entrance Hall door, leaving Ron behind. She felt much warmer now. The cool brisk winter wind swept past her. She looked behind her to see Ron actually followed her. She turned back around and continued to walk on the grounds.

"Hermione," said Ron's voice.

Hermione stopped walking and turned around. "Hey, Ron... What is it?"

"You left your book," he said, handing it to her. "Figured you might want it."

"Oh! Thank you." she smiled as she took the book from him. She never expected that coming from Ron... That was the type of thing that Harry would usually do. Ron would normally laugh and say it was tough luck or something.

"Your welcome," he replied.

"So…" Hermione said, looking around.

"Uh… Yeah…" said Ron, shrugging. "Can I possibly join you in your walk?"

"Aren't you cold?" she questioned.

"Well, maybe a little but I'm fine," said Ron, folding his arms.

"Oh… You can have your sweater back if you want…"

"Oh no. I gave it to you. Keep it, really." Insisted Ron.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I hate maroon." He said. "I get one every year."

"Oh yeah… Well, thanks." She said, smiling weakly.

"Your welcome, again." Said Ron.

"Well, let's walk…" said Hermione, breaking the awkward moment.

"Yeah. So… What's the Nocturnal Beast book for?"

"Boredom. I already finished my three reports from Transfiguration, Charms and Potions so I thought a little informational book about nocturnal beast and stuff just to review for exams later on."

"Oh… Do you think you could help me with mine?"

"Which one?"

"All of them…?" he asked nervously.

Hermione laughed. "Sure… I'm only going to help though, not practically do it for you."

"I know, I know…" said Ron, looking down.

"Good. Because you know, if you applied yourself you could do it all on your own."

"Oh really? I could?"

"Why yes, of course, Ron!"

"Yeah okay… And I have a million galleons." Said Ron with sarcasm.

"All right, whatever you say, I still believe you can do it though."

"With your help I can do about anything." Said Ron, beaming.

"It's nice to know I'm appreciated around here," said Hermione, with a roll of her eyes.

"You are, Hermione." Said Ron, looking down.

Hermione looked over at him. "You okay?" she asked, with concern.

"Fine." He answered, quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…" he said, quietly.

"Oh, well… Okay."

"Erm… can I tell you something?"

"Of course! Anything that troubles you, Ron."

"Oh… Well… Never mind."

"Okay then…" she said, narrowing her eyebrows.

"Sorry, I don't think I'm ready to talk about it."

"Oh, well then… Whenever you are, you can come to me."

"Thanks…" he said, quietly.

"Your welcome…" she said, smiling at him.

When Ron turned to her he smiled too. "So, seen Harry lately?"

"He's been busy lately…" said Hermione.

"Yeah, I noticed. Barely talks to me at all."

"Oh well, that's the way he is these days. Doesn't care about much, ever since Sirius died…"

"Well, if you weren't so blunt about it then maybe he would talk to you more often."

"Well, Harry needs to learn how to face the truth, don't you think?" she asked, looking over at Ron.

Ron sighed. "We're supposed to be his friends,"

"We are. It's just I'd like him to realize that. We're not against him! We're with him! We only don't understand because he doesn't want us to..."

"I'm going back inside, enjoy the sweater..." he said, shrugging lightly.

"All right then," said Hermione, looking over at him as Ron departed her company.

"Hmm... This sweater is pretty warm..." she said, to herself. "But I have to give it back. I can't just keep it. If I wear it for more than one day, people will start to think... They might even start talking! Oh, I cannot be seen in this sweater. No matter how much, I love being in it..."

Hmm... To keep writing or not? I guess reviews will tell me. I don't even feel like completing this thought to grab your attention. Just a quick yes or no will do. o.o yay. >> Thanks.

Vikki