Hermione raced down the corridor, following the anxious first year.
"There!" the girl shouted, pointing toward a mob that had formed in front
of the empty Charms classroom.
"Excuse me," she barked, forcing a path through the circular throng of onlookers. "Excuse me! Prefect coming through!" Hermione immediately spotted Ron, pinned to the floor by Malfoy. A defiant blow to the face sent the Slytherin stumbling backward, blood trickling to his robes.
"You're dead, you squalid weasel!" he hissed, once again attacking the redheaded Gryffindor.
"Stop! Stop it, now!" Hermione clamored frenetically. She ordered Crabbe and Goyle to seize Malfoy, while she apprehended Ron. "Everyone, back to your dormitories, NOW! There is nothing more to see!" The concourse sluggishly began to disperse, prompting her to storm, "Out of my sight, NOW, or I will see to it that you all receive a horrid detention!"
Ron could tell that her blood was boiling, on the verge of evaporation, as she dragged him back to the Gryffindor common room, and he didn't dare utter one word to her. She shoved him onto the couch in front of the fireplace.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW ANGRY, no, INFURIATED I AM? As if I don't already have enough duties to fulfill and problems to handle, you go and start a fight!"
"I didn't start it!" Ron protested.
Hermione ignored his extenuation and continued. "You're a fifth year, Ron! I might expect this from the younger students, but never from you! Do you even care that you're setting a horrible example for the first years that I am desperately trying to keep in line! I tell them that violence is never the answer, but the minute I turn my back, there you are having a nasty brawl with Malfoy! And don't even get me started on him!" She finally paused to take a needed breath. "Oh, dear! Your eye…"
"It's fine. I'll go get some ice for it, later."
"No you won't," she scolded. "You're going to sit right here. I'll be back." With that, Hermione got up and hurried out the door. A short time later, she returned with a small bag of ice and two cloths. She retrieved the jug of water from the windowsill, then took a seat next to Ron.
As Hermione tended to his bruised eye, Ron grumbled, "I suppose you're going to tell McGonagall about this…"
"You suppose? Of course I am!"
"But, Hermione! She's still raging about the troll thing."
"As she should be," she glared. "What possessed you and Harry to pull a prank like that, I don't know."
"It was funny!"
"It was stupid and dangerous, and one would assume that you'd know better, especially after what happened during our first year. You saw the panic it instated."
"Oh, come now, everyone had a good laugh…except the teachers…and you."
"You frightened half of the first years. Honestly, Ron, you were that age once. Just because you weren't morbidly afraid of mountain trolls, doesn't mean others will be the same. Speaking of Harry, where is he? I haven't seen him since Potions."
"He got mangled by a giant spider."
"Ron!" She pushed a little harder on the wound, and he sibilated in pain.
"All right, I think Dumbledore hauled him to some kind of 'We hate Voldemort' rally in Figg's office." Hermione smirked. She loved the fact that Ron was finally saying "Voldemort" instead of "You-Know-Who".
"It seems he's spending more and more time in there," she sighed absentmindedly.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say they're having tea-parties, and we're not invited." Hermione giggled. "I wonder why we aren't invited. I mean, we are his best friends…at least, I think."
"He did seem a bit chummy with Moody's wooden leg," she noted sardonically. "There you are. I imagine it will still turn a bit purple, but nothing hideous." She smiled as she gathered up the towels. "Just keep the ice on it."
"Thanks, Hermione."
"Ron…how did you and Malfoy end up in a row?"
He hesitated, then replied, "Well, he called you a mudblood…and a few other improper names."
Hermione chuckled and lectured, "Ron, that word doesn't have half the effect on me, as it does you…"
"It's the most vicious insult a witch or wizard can get. I don't like him calling you that… The fact that he's a pureblood doesn't make him any better than you. I mean, you're top student…and downright the best witch at Hogwarts. Well, for a student I mean…" He thought he spied her blush, but decided that it must have been a reflection of the flames dancing in the hearth.
"You know, I really do appreciate you standing up for me… It's sweet." This time, he was sure it was a blush. He felt his heart stop as she inched toward him. Was she going to kiss him? IOh…I'm definitely going to mess this upI, he thought.
But, instead, she shifted slightly and whispered, "You know, maybe I can accidentally forget to tell McGonagall about this…" She glanced at Ron, who sat with a puzzled expression, threatening to turn into a smile. "It's an honest mistake."
"You're amazing," Ron exclaimed. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, treading on territory dangerously close to her lips. "Thanks," he added, gesturing to his eye with the icepack. Then he ran up the stairs and called, "See you at dinner!"
Hermione slumped back against the crimson davenport beaming without shame. "So this is what they mean by 'opposites attract.'"
"Excuse me," she barked, forcing a path through the circular throng of onlookers. "Excuse me! Prefect coming through!" Hermione immediately spotted Ron, pinned to the floor by Malfoy. A defiant blow to the face sent the Slytherin stumbling backward, blood trickling to his robes.
"You're dead, you squalid weasel!" he hissed, once again attacking the redheaded Gryffindor.
"Stop! Stop it, now!" Hermione clamored frenetically. She ordered Crabbe and Goyle to seize Malfoy, while she apprehended Ron. "Everyone, back to your dormitories, NOW! There is nothing more to see!" The concourse sluggishly began to disperse, prompting her to storm, "Out of my sight, NOW, or I will see to it that you all receive a horrid detention!"
Ron could tell that her blood was boiling, on the verge of evaporation, as she dragged him back to the Gryffindor common room, and he didn't dare utter one word to her. She shoved him onto the couch in front of the fireplace.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW ANGRY, no, INFURIATED I AM? As if I don't already have enough duties to fulfill and problems to handle, you go and start a fight!"
"I didn't start it!" Ron protested.
Hermione ignored his extenuation and continued. "You're a fifth year, Ron! I might expect this from the younger students, but never from you! Do you even care that you're setting a horrible example for the first years that I am desperately trying to keep in line! I tell them that violence is never the answer, but the minute I turn my back, there you are having a nasty brawl with Malfoy! And don't even get me started on him!" She finally paused to take a needed breath. "Oh, dear! Your eye…"
"It's fine. I'll go get some ice for it, later."
"No you won't," she scolded. "You're going to sit right here. I'll be back." With that, Hermione got up and hurried out the door. A short time later, she returned with a small bag of ice and two cloths. She retrieved the jug of water from the windowsill, then took a seat next to Ron.
As Hermione tended to his bruised eye, Ron grumbled, "I suppose you're going to tell McGonagall about this…"
"You suppose? Of course I am!"
"But, Hermione! She's still raging about the troll thing."
"As she should be," she glared. "What possessed you and Harry to pull a prank like that, I don't know."
"It was funny!"
"It was stupid and dangerous, and one would assume that you'd know better, especially after what happened during our first year. You saw the panic it instated."
"Oh, come now, everyone had a good laugh…except the teachers…and you."
"You frightened half of the first years. Honestly, Ron, you were that age once. Just because you weren't morbidly afraid of mountain trolls, doesn't mean others will be the same. Speaking of Harry, where is he? I haven't seen him since Potions."
"He got mangled by a giant spider."
"Ron!" She pushed a little harder on the wound, and he sibilated in pain.
"All right, I think Dumbledore hauled him to some kind of 'We hate Voldemort' rally in Figg's office." Hermione smirked. She loved the fact that Ron was finally saying "Voldemort" instead of "You-Know-Who".
"It seems he's spending more and more time in there," she sighed absentmindedly.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say they're having tea-parties, and we're not invited." Hermione giggled. "I wonder why we aren't invited. I mean, we are his best friends…at least, I think."
"He did seem a bit chummy with Moody's wooden leg," she noted sardonically. "There you are. I imagine it will still turn a bit purple, but nothing hideous." She smiled as she gathered up the towels. "Just keep the ice on it."
"Thanks, Hermione."
"Ron…how did you and Malfoy end up in a row?"
He hesitated, then replied, "Well, he called you a mudblood…and a few other improper names."
Hermione chuckled and lectured, "Ron, that word doesn't have half the effect on me, as it does you…"
"It's the most vicious insult a witch or wizard can get. I don't like him calling you that… The fact that he's a pureblood doesn't make him any better than you. I mean, you're top student…and downright the best witch at Hogwarts. Well, for a student I mean…" He thought he spied her blush, but decided that it must have been a reflection of the flames dancing in the hearth.
"You know, I really do appreciate you standing up for me… It's sweet." This time, he was sure it was a blush. He felt his heart stop as she inched toward him. Was she going to kiss him? IOh…I'm definitely going to mess this upI, he thought.
But, instead, she shifted slightly and whispered, "You know, maybe I can accidentally forget to tell McGonagall about this…" She glanced at Ron, who sat with a puzzled expression, threatening to turn into a smile. "It's an honest mistake."
"You're amazing," Ron exclaimed. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, treading on territory dangerously close to her lips. "Thanks," he added, gesturing to his eye with the icepack. Then he ran up the stairs and called, "See you at dinner!"
Hermione slumped back against the crimson davenport beaming without shame. "So this is what they mean by 'opposites attract.'"