But I love you…
--
"Honestly Ronald, it's no wonder that your mum sent you a howler, I mean you didn't exactly score very well did you?" Hermione pointed out after listening to only minutes of Ron's grumbling about his mother's missive. She then turned back to her rune translation, which was spread out over their table in the common room. She jotted something down and then checked one of her translations in her large dictionary.
Harry looked between his two best friends and was scrambling to think of an excuse to leave when Ginny came up and rescued him by asking if he wanted to play a game of Exploding Snap. As Harry made his escape to the other side of the common room, Ron puffed up, retorting, "I have a good enough grade. She didn't have to send it at lunch though. The whole school heard. Besides I have better things to do than study all the time for that slimy git's class, unlike some people I know."
"Oh yes, I can see how that's paying off for you." Hermione countered, pointing at his as yet, unfinished potion's essay, "Maybe if you'd write that essay you'd have more time to do those more important things."
Ron just shook his head in confusion, "Why would I do that, when you always help me anyway?"
"Maybe because you would learn something that way?" Hermione suggested hopefully.
Ron looked shocked at the idea replying, "I'd rather go play Exploding Snap with Harry and Ginny."
Hermione groaned in frustration.
"You're a lazy bum, Ronald Weasley."
--
"What was that?" Hermione asked in the midst of their lunch, turning to Harry for a translation. When even Harry couldn't decipher Ron's answer to her question, she sighed and repeated her question, "Do you think that Pig would carry a letter for me?"
Ron, his mouth now empty, replied, "I said, 'Yeah, the little bugger will carry a letter for anyone'."
"Thanks. Next time, you could wait until you don't have food in your mouth to answer me. And you have something on your face." Hermione told him, turning back to the letter she'd been writing.
Scrubbing at his face vigorously with his napkin the redhead rejoined, "Next time, you could wait until I don't have food in my mouth to question me."
"When don't you have food in your mouth at lunchtime, Ron?" Hermione asked with an irritated sigh, "I have to get this letter sent to my parents; a nod would have been a fine answer."
Ron, his mouth full of food once more replied, "Mma grwin 'oy." He washed the food down with some pumpkin juice, as Ginny shuddered and Harry inched away from his friends, his argument radar blaring alarms in his head.
"You've used that excuse for years now. When are you just going to learn some table manners?" she retorted, nettled.
Deliberately shoveling food in his mouth before he replied, Ron said, "En ew top a'kin 'e 'o."
Hermione gagged in disgust.
"You're an ill-mannered pig, Ronald Weasley!"
--
"Honestly Ronald, there are more important things than Quidditch." Hermione informed her redheaded best friend, stopping him in the middle of a rant about his favorite sport.
"More important things than Quidditch?" He asked, skeptically, "Well sure, there's food, and chess is brilliant, but that hardly counts."
"What about good books, art, music, dance, learning?" She asked philosophically.
Ron just gave her an incredulous look, "What do any of those things have to do with real life? I doubt I'll need to know about art to play professional Quidditch or be an Auror."
"There are other things in life, you know." She enlightened him, becoming irritated, "And things like art and music can just make life all the more beautiful."
Ron retorted, "I'm not a girl, I don't need life to be pretty. I just need food and Quidditch."
Hermione scowled in contempt.
"You're an unimaginative cretin, Ronald Weasley."
--
"What was that?" Hermione asked, hearing Ron's low muttering.
Ron just scowled.
"What were you muttering about?" Hermione repeated, "If it's about that homework that Professor McGonagall just set us, I'll look over it for you later."
Ron just scowled some more and retorted, "It's not the homework."
"Then what's your problem?" She asked concernedly.
Jerking his head back towards the classroom he replied tersely, "Him."
"Him?" She looked around, "Harry?"
Nodding he groused, "He doesn't have to do three feet on the effects of transfiguring a human into something inanimate."
"That's because he doesn't have the time for that. Dumbledore's training him so he can defeat Voldemort." She pointed out, "He'll be right in the middle of the fight."
Still peeved he retorted, "Great, he'll be even more famous."
"Harry doesn't want that fame and you know it!" Hermione countered, "He does most of the work as well."
Ron scowled, "We'll be right there too, you know. We always are. There's no counting the number of times I've been hurt on one of our adventures. But he gets all the credit. It would be nice to get a little recognition for all that I've done."
Hermione flushed in annoyance.
"You're a pretentious bastard, Ronald Weasley!"
--
"Honestly Ronald, it's no wonder that Lavender broke up with you, I mean you didn't exactly treat her well now did you?" Hermione pointed out as they walked to Charms.
Ron scowled at his books, "I'm a decent bloke. Besides, what would you know about it? You've never even had a boyfriend of your own."
"That's entirely beside the point." Trying somewhat disastrously to stop the argument from making her monstrous headache even worse she sarcastically agreed, "Of course, what girl wouldn't want someone like you?"
Ron asked furiously, "What do you mean by that? Plenty of girls want me."
"Oh yes, they're all lined up, just waiting aren't they?" she replied calmly, "Maybe if you were nicer then the girls you're interested in would stay around for longer."
The angry redhead replied, "At least I am interested in people, unlike some people I know, who only care for their books."
Hermione shook in rage.
"You're a bloody ass, Ronald Weasley!"
--
"What was that?" Hermione asked loudly stepping through the portrait hole.
Turning around to face her as he halted his progress across the common room, Ron balled his hands into fists at his side and replied, "You heard me. Why are you always having a go at me, eh?"
"Why? Why!" Hermione shrieked gathering the attention of most of Gryffindor house, "I'll tell you why. I'll give you a whole list."
As she took a deep breath, Harry backed away from his two best friends, taking refuge behind Ginny. The angry bookworm shouted her list, holding up a finger for each of the items on it, "The seven things I hate about you, here they are. You're lazy, you're rude, you're narrow-minded, you're conceited, you make me laugh, and you make me cry."
"Wha-What's the seventh?" Ron asked, flushed as he realized that their argument was the center of attention for his classmates.
Looking at him hopelessly she replied, "You want to know the seventh thing that I hate the most? In spite of it all, you make me love you."
Ron looked at her in disbelief, "What? You love me? Even after all that?"
Hermione sighed in confession.
"You're a git, Ronald Weasley. But I love you."
Quickly closing the distance, Ron wrapped one arm around Hermione and used the other hand to tilt her chin up as he pressed his lips to hers. Breaking the kiss he asked, "Hermione? Would you like to hear my list?" When she just stared at him in shock he continued, "You're a bookworm, you're a workaholic, you don't like Quidditch, you're a know it all, you make me laugh, and you irritate me to no end."
"Y-Your seventh?" She prompted nervously when he stopped.
Running a hand through his hair he let out his own sigh, "The seventh thing that I hate the most about you? You make me love you back."
The lions let out a great roar, and a great many whistles and catcalls, as Hermione brought her lips back to his, kissing him fiercely. All in all they agreed it was a much better way to end another row.