"Hermione, please just take the extra blanket, I don't want you to be cold" Ron had been telling her this over and over again for the past fifteen minutes, Harry had gone upstairs to have another look around Sirius' room so Ron and Hermione were alone. Thankfully Ron wasn't wearing the locket tonight, he knew it made him irritable and easily annoyed and he didn't want to be like that with Hermione. Tonight was the first night that they were alone together. Hermione was seeming distant, it was probably just because she was worried about the search for the horcruxes but he always had a niggling feeling that she would rather be with Harry than with him. He knew both Harry and Hermione had denied they liked each other in any way more than just friends, but still he couldn't get the thought out of his head.
"No Ronald, I will not take it from you, we are both equal in all of this and I don't need it!" Hermione replied, in the voice that reminded Ron of the way his mother told him off when he did something to Ginny, of course he couldn't do anything to Ginny now because Harry would always be there to protect her. Anyway, he loved when Hermione spoke like that, he knew she was trying to tell him off but every time she used that voice he just imagined her telling off a child, their child. He couldn't think of that though, he wasn't even sure if Hermione liked him in that way.
Despite liking Hermione when she was angry Ron knew he couldn't just sit gawking at her forever, "Hermione, that's not what I meant, I know we're equal but you're shivering and you haven't eaten in days! I just want to look after you."
Maybe he shouldn't have said that, she might take it the wrong way. Hermione looked up and stared right into his glistening blue eyes and smiled. Ron reached Hermione's hand and gently grasped it in his, she flinched slightly but then relaxed and held tighter onto Ron.
"I know you're only looking out for me, but we're all in the same boat, none of us have eaten, but we're going to be fine and we're going to be safe, and do you know why?" asked Hermione gently.
"Why?" he replied.
"Because I've got you to protect me, and we're going to defeat You Know Who and Harry's going..."
"Stop it Hermione! Why do you always have to bring Harry into everything! We were talking about us and you just have to go and make it about him! I knew you loved him more than you say! Oh he's just like a brother you say, well that's obviously not true you're just a lying mudblood!"
Hermione stopped and let go of Ron's hand as her eyes became puddled with tears, "Well I'm sorry! I was just going to say how Harry's going to be able to go home and be with Ginny and I can be with you, but obviously that's not going to happen now! And you can have the stupid blanket anyway I'm going upstairs!"
"Hermione... I..."
"Save it Ronald, and for the record, I don't love Harry Potter... I love you!" and with that she stormed out the room.