Noticing Hermione
She stopped crying a long time ago. She only cried on a few scattered nights. But I know it's getting worse for her, harder to handle it. I notice that she stopped taking care of her appearance and her hair is atrocious, bigger than Hogwarts, her eyes are red from not sleeping (and I assume, crying though I never witness it), and she often looks disheveled. Since the incident, when he so mercilessly imitated her, she raises her hand less. Her grades are just as high and she scribbles just as much, but she's not as enthusiastic about school as she used to be. She's falling apart.
I watch her warily, knowing that she could crack any day now. If something else happens, she could lose it completely.
I keep snogging Ron, trying to keep him. I never felt like this with Seamus. I feel like I'm floating when I'm with him. But I notice what it does to her, and that hurts me.
I like Hermione. She's a little odd, always reading and all that, but she's never cruel. I wish it didn't have to be like this. I wish I didn't have to try so hard to make him mine.
I try to show him how much I care about him and sometimes, I feel like it's all for nothing, because he's always watching her when he thinks I'm not looking. Sometimes, I think he assumes that I'm too daft to notice, but I know. He fancies her. Probably always will, now that he thinks she's unattainable. If I didn't like him so much, love him, I would tell him how easy it would be for him. All he would have to do is ask, make the smallest effort, and she'd be his.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice her at that table in the Common Room where she often sits. She's bent over some parchment, scribbling madly for a few moments. Suddenly, she stops and stares at some spot on the table before shaking her head and going back to whatever she's working on. It's clear that her heart isn't in it.
I'm waiting for Ron to get out of Quidditch practice; she's waiting for him to notice her.
No, she's waiting for him to realize she notices him.
I know he loves her. I know she loves him. But I love him too, and right now, he's mine. So I plan to distract him from noticing her as long as possible.
Sighing, I decide to give Hermione the night off. I'll snog Ron tomorrow and allow her this night to compose herself.
After all, Ron's birthday is next week. I'll have plenty of chances to keep him in my grasp. Why wouldn't he want to spend his birthday with the one who loves him?