Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter (sadly) does not belong to me. It's J.K. Rowling's. I only own this particular plot.

Hermione watched Harry and Cho Chang stroll by arm in arm, chatting. Harry didn't even look at her. He had very little time for his old friends now that he had finally gotten his date with Cho. The pair rounded the far corner, the one that led to the Room of Requirement.

They probably want some 'quality time' together, Hermione thought bitterly. As if they didn't spend every waking minute together anyways. Where was Ron? He was the only one who would say anything bad about the 'Chosen One' and his 'Golden Girlfriend'. And maybe a kiss would cheer her up. But, as people say, 'Things have to get worse before they get better.' Draco Malfoy was strutting towards her, smirking.

"Feeling sorry for yourself, Mudblood?" he sneered as he passed. "Feeling lonely now that precious Potter has someone better to hang out with than you and the weasel?"

"Actually," she retorted sharply, though his words were painfully true, "I was going to practice cheering charms. Goodbye." And drop dead, she thought, turning on her heel. As she marched off in the direction opposite the one Harry and Cho had taken, Malfoy debated on whether or not to jinx her, but decided against it. She probably knew a lot more spells than he did, and could also probably perform them better. Besides, it was dishonorable to attack an opponent when her back was turned. Not that he'd ever cared before…

Hermione had mastered cheering charms two years before, so she headed to the library. It would be quiet enough for her to finish an essay Snape, the potions master, had assigned, and Ron would expect her to be there.

Ron still hadn't arrived, and Hermione had finished her essay and started on her rune translations. Just then, his sister, Ginny, thumped onto the chair across from her.

"Missing your friends?" she asked sympathetically. Hermione nodded, grimacing. "Hermione, I've dated a lot more boys than you, no offense," Hermione grinned, "and there are two types of boys. There are boys who come running every time you call them, and they are really annoying. Being waited on hand and foot gets extremely old after a while. Then, there are boys who come when they feel like it. You just have to deal with it. They'll come."

"I know Ron will be here. Soon, hopefully. He's probably just off playing more Quidditch; he was really disappointed by the last match. But I'm not so sure about Harry. He hasn't spent more than about five minutes with either of us before Cho's shown up and they've gone off somewhere together. It's been two weeks!" Hermione knew she sounded whiney. She needed to be logical. "Anyways," she muttered, "I have work to do. Thanks, Ginny."

"No problem. Bye." She shrugged and left Hermione alone, thinking. She supposed Harry wouldn't always want to spend all his time with Cho, without any of his other friends. Cho was sweet and smart and pretty, but she wasn't everything.

With a sigh, she turned back to her runes, but, finally, Ron burst into the library. His fiery hair was wet and stuck out in all directions from the driving rain outside and his robes were muddy. He grinned when he saw her. "I've been looking all over for you!" he said, too loudly. Madam Pince, the librarian, glared menacingly at him around Hermione's slightly bushy, mahogany hair. Hermione, in her proper library voice, remarked, "Where did you expect me to be?"

"Well," he began, and Hermione, sensing a long story, settled into her chair as he sat in the one Ginny had vacated, "I saw Harry and Cho coming down the stairs, the ones with the two invisible steps. I was kind of surprised that you weren't with them, actually. But, then again, they'd probably start snogging in the middle of the corridor, and no one wants to witness that," he shuddered. "Anyway, I asked if they had seen you, and Cho said you'd been in the corridor near the Room of Requirement, even though Harry said he hadn't seen you all afternoon, the git." Funny, Hermione hadn't thought either of them had noticed her. They could have said hi, at the very least. "So," Ron went on, "I thought you might have gone in there, you know, to get some book you couldn't find in the library or something. Then, I thought you might have gone down to the common room when you weren't there, but you weren't there either. Then, Ginny said you were in the library, where I would have gone next anyways, mind you, but here I am!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "And your hair is still wet?" she teased.

He sighed dramatically. "It never dries."

She laughed, but then turned away sadly. "Missing Harry?" Ron guessed.

"He's my friend," she replied, "and he never has time for anyone but Cho anymore. She's nice and all, but…" she trailed off.

"Yeah." Ron gave her a sweet kiss, and Hermione smiled. "Actually," commented Ron, "I don't really know her all that well. I've just heard Harry talk about her- and talk about a biased opinion there! According to him, Cho is the perfect girl who can do no wrong."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "Maybe that's the problem," she mused.

"What, that Cho is the most amazing person in the whole world?"

"No. That we don't really know her. And Harry always hangs around with her and her crowd, but not us. Cho doesn't really know us, either, so she's understandably more comfortable with her own friends."

"And Harry will give her anything," Ron remarked.

"Right. So if we all spend some time together, she'll be more comfortable with us and she and Harry can hang out with us as well," Hermione reasoned.

"But they're together," protested Ron, sounding disgusted.

"So are we. Try to be a little more mature, please, Ron. Or don't you ever want to see Harry for more than five minutes again in your life? He's your friend, too."

"But… oh, all right. But you get to think of how you're going to round up the whole gang for a big, happy get together. I'm not."

"Ron, I can always think of something," Hermione retorted, and, shoving her books into her bag and swinging it over her shoulder, she made for the library door. "I'll talk to him right now. You may want to start on that essay for Snape," she called back to him. Madam Pince made furious hushing gestures at her as she marched out, feeling much more cheerful now that she had a plan.