Hermione Granger was absolutely and unavoidably mad. Normally, Ron was okay with this. While her bad moods lasted for a while, they were few and far between; when she did get them she usually raged to him about other people. That was fine, as he was good at pretending to listen and agreeing at just the right intervals. Of course, anger was a normal emotion and she didn't get mad that often. It was fine. Her bad moods were tolerable when the anger wasn't directed at him.
Unfortunately for him, a large number of her bad moods were directed at him.
This was one of those times.
"-I cannot believe I let you do this! I told you it was stupid! And look what happened! I'm stuck in detention because you decided it would be a good idea to charm Professor Spiegel's mustache to crawl like a caterpillar across his face!"
Ron snorted as the image of the event resurfaced in his mind. Clearly, his humorous attitude was not received well, as Hermione looked as though steam would pour out of her ears at any moment.
"This is not a joke, Ronald! I have detention!"
"You've gotten detention before," Ron told her, hoping to reassure her that this wasn't the end of the world.
She gave him a dry look. "Yes, that makes it all better. The punishment is less severe once you've made the mistake a second time," she said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.
"No, I mean, at least it doesn't ruin your record or anything," he said, trying his best to sound optimistic.
"Nope, it just makes it worse," she replied in a tone similar to how Ron imagined the spell Sectumsempra would have if it could speak.
He held up his hands, resolving to step lightly around her. "Yep, it's absolutely horrible," he agreed.
"Oh, thanks, Ron, that makes it so much better."
He sighed. He couldn't win here, and admitted that to her was easier than just continuing to bicker. "Look, you're going to get mad whatever I say."
She smiled ruefully. "Good, you're catching on."
Ron sighed again and trailed after her. He honestly hadn't meant to get her in trouble. He had not expected Professor Spiegel, their rather nasty new DADA teacher, to believe Ron was unable to execute the magic required to detach the hairs and animate the mustache on his face. So he had blamed Hermione, despite their protests, saying he knew Ron had talked her into it. Both had been outraged.
However, as soon as they were out of the classroom, she had turned on him, furious with him for getting her in trouble. To be fair, the magic was more advanced than the magic he usually struggled with in class, but he was certainly capable!
"It was a pretty advanced spell, I can see why he thought you did it, not me," he said. A little ego stroking never hurt.
She smiled slightly. "Thank you, Ron, but I know you are perfectly capable, and it was rude of him to assume you couldn't. I might know more than you, but with some practice, you can do anything I can."
Ron stopped and gaped at her, his head tilted to the side to get a better look.
She stopped as well, frowning. "Oh, come on, don't look so surprised."
He continued to stare.
She sighed. "Well, if you can't take a compliment," she turned on her heel and continued off down the corridor..
He stood there for a second, gaping like a fish, then blinked and hurried after her.