A Game For Fools

by LadySlytherin1

Ron and Hermione are constantly fighting in their seventh year. It's up to Harry to get them to make up or break up. A short, one shot fic. R/Hr! Review!

A Game for Fools

By: LadySlytherin

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Harry Potter. If I did, then this wouldn't be fanfiction, would it?

Summary: Tear-jerker ahead! Break out the tissues, folks!

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?"

Harry, now in his seventh year, was outside the portrait of the Fat Lady to the common room when he heard the girl shouting. The portrait was open, Gryffindor's pouring out of the room. They gave him sympathetic glances before escaping ground zero.

Harry, now seventeen and standing at the height of 6 feet, rolled his eyes and sighed. Ron and Hermione must be fighting again. Harry had only just returned from Quidditch practice. As Captain, Harry had stayed behind when he let his teammates go to do some last minute preparation for the game against Ravenclaw tomorrow. I only dismissed Ron and the others ten minutes ago! How could they be fighting already!?, Harry wondered, finding himself getting angry.

Harry took a deep breath and entered the common room after the last student had left. He saw what had become a familiar scene. Ron, still in his Quidditch robes, standing in the middle of the common room, face red with fury, clutching his broomstick so hard it looked as though it would break in half. Hermione was about five feet away from him, with a shocked look on her face. What the hell did you say this time, Ron?, Harry wondered.

Angry tears on her face, she marched straight up to Ron and slapped him. Very hard. "I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU! I HATE YOU!!!" She screamed at him. Must have been really bad this time., Harry thought, as she ran upstairs to the girl's dorms.

"I HATE YOU MORE!" Ron bellowed, even though she was gone, and marched up the other stairs to the boy's dorms.

Moments after Ron had went upstairs, Neville, Seamus, and Dean had come hurriedly downstairs.

"It isn't FAIR!" Dean was saying to the other boys, looking quite put out. "Why should WE have to leave when HE'S pissed off?"

Seamus, also still in his Quidditch robes and looking more bored than anything, rolled his eyes at the question. "Because Ron is twice your size, Dean. He could probably kill you with his bare hands."

Neville was the first to see Harry standing at the entrance to the common room. "Harry!" He said, walking up to Harry. "You've got to do something!"

"It's their third fight this week!" Dean grumbled just as annoyed.

Harry walked over to the sofa in front of the fireplace, and fell into it. "What do you want me to do!? He never listens to me, you know that!"

Seamus plopped down next to Harry. "I know Harry, but you're his best friend. And hers."

Dean stood in front of Harry. "You must be far more fed up with this than we are, and we're pretty fed up!"

Harry nodded, sighing again. "Alright guys…I'll try. Don't expect a miracle or anything." He looked up at the girl's dorm stairway as Lavender and Parvati came marching down.

They both looked at Harry with glares in their eyes. "Harry," Lavender said firmly, "you've GOT to do something!"

Parvati nodded swiftly. "We can't stand this anymore!"

Harry rolled his eyes, trying to hide himself under one of the sofa's pillows. Seamus came to Harry's rescue, standing in front of the girls. "Don't give him a hard time, girls. He's gonna try, but it's all he can do."

Lavender sighed, sitting where Seamus had next to Harry. "I'm sorry Harry." She said, patting his shoulder. "But this is really getting bad. They've been fighting more and more."

"I know." Harry said sadly. "This always happens! They fight, they break up, and then they get back together!"

"Honestly, if they love each other so much, why are they always fighting?" Parvati wondered aloud.

"And if they hate each other so much, why are they always getting back together?" Neville added.

Harry had been wondering much the same thing for months. The constant fighting was really getting on his nerves. He had to do something before the next fight made them hate each other for good, if this one hadn't already. "Lavender, Parvati? I need you to find Ginny. She told me she was heading to the library after watching us practice. Get her back here as fast as you can." Harry told them, kicking into mission gear. The two girls smiled at him, and ran out of the common room. He looked at the Dean and Neville. "I need you guys to find as many Gryffindor's as you can. Tell them Ron and Hermione are having another fight. A REALLY bad one. Ask them to spread the word. That should keep them away from the common room for a few hours." They nodded and left the common room as well.

Seamus looked at Harry curiously. "What do you want me to do, Captain?"

"You'll be standing guard outside the portrait, watching for the other students, prefects, or professors."

Not much time had passed when Lavender and Parvati had returned with Ginny. The three of them out of breath from running. Ginny was looking particularly angry, obliviously having been told of the fight.

Harry gave a half-hearted smile to his sixth year girlfriend of three months. He and Ginny had been hiding their relationship from Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of the school. The other three in the room knew about the secret, along with Dean and Neville. They were hoping to talk to Ron about it when the fighting between him and Hermione settled down. But since the fighting had worsened over the last three months, Harry and Ginny had to sneak around, much to their annoyance. But both of them knew Ron, and how he'd react.

Harry smiled at Lavender and Parvati. "Thanks for getting her. If you want, you can help Seamus keep an eye out for everybody."

Seamus smiled at the girls. "I'd appreciate the company."

Lavender nodded. "Sure, we'll help you out Seamus."

"Good luck, you two." Parvati said hopefully.

After the three of them left, Harry turned to Ginny. "I need your help with this one, Ginny."

Ginny, having seen Harry's anger quenching smile, sighed. "You want me to talk to Hermione while you talk to Ron?"
Harry nodded. "We need to tell them that everybody is tired of this. That they booth need to swallow their pride and work this out. They need to tell each other EXACTLY what they're problems are with each other."

Ginny shook her head. "I'll try Harry. But I'm getting to the point of not giving a damn about their relationship! I'm tired of sneaking around!" She said in a harsh whisper.

Harry took her in his arms, kissing the top of her head. "I know, Ginny. But they are our friends. We have to convince them to reach some kind of common ground."

When they both pulled from their embrace, she kissed him softly. "I love you, Harry."

He smiled at her. "I love you too, Ginny."

"How are we going to do this?" Ginny asked, getting back at the heart of the matter.

"By the slap Hermione gave him, I think this one was Ron's fault. I'm going to try and calm down Ron. You do the same for Hermione. Get her to want to talk this out with him. I'll come to you guys when he's ready. And then we'll let them go somewhere and talk it out. Remember, we don't want them just forgiving each other. We want them to talk about what's really wrong."

"Right." Ginny said confidently. "Should be too impossible."

Harry chuckled at her words. "We can only hope."

"Good luck." She said quietly, making her way up to the girl's dorms.

"You too." He said, climbing the stairs as well.

Harry found Ron in their dorms. He was lying on his bed, glaring up at nothing. Ron was still taller than Harry, at 6'4. He'd gotten very toned and slightly tanned from playing as one of the team's Chasers. Even in the soft light, Harry could see the intense red mark where Hermione had slapped him. It must have been at least fifteen or twenty minutes since the fight had ended, but Ron was still fuming.

Harry approached slowly, sitting down on his own bed that was next to Ron's. "You okay, Ron?" He asked quietly.

Ron didn't look at him. "No." He responded harshly.

Harry sighed heavily. "Ron…this fighting has got to stop."

Blue eyes ablaze shot to look at him. Ron stood up quickly. "SHE'S THE ONE DOING IT!"

"There you go again, Ron!" Harry argued back, standing as well. "This is part of the problem right here! Can't you have an argument without yelling!? Without losing your temper!?" Ron glared again, but said nothing. Harry took a deep breath. "Ron, you've got to calm down. When you get angry you say things you don't mean."

"…I know." Ron said, at a much lower volume.

Harry nodded, sitting back down on his bed. Ron sat again on his. "Now," Harry continued slowly, "what did you say to make her slap you?"

Ron looked hurt. "I should have guessed you'd take HER side!"

"I'm not taking anybody's side!" Harry groaned. "Everybody has had enough of you two fighting! It hurts to see you guys like this! Please Ron…tell me what you said to her."

Ron turned away, frowning. "…I said…I told her she was a…" He paused, closing his eyes, "Dammit! I called her an irritating, nagging bitch! What the hell was I THINKING, saying THAT to her!?!? What have I done, Harry!?"

Harry was taken back but what Ron had told him. He almost DID want to take sides. No wonder she slapped him! But he had to stay neutral if this was going to get resolved. "What was she doing to make you say that, Ron?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't remember all of it. All I know is that I get back to the common room after practice and she starts…well…NAGGING me! I was exhausted from practice…which she didn't even show up to watch like she SAID she would! Probably in the library again! Bloody hell, she spends more time in that bloody place than she does with me!" Ron said, his voice full of hurt.

"Have you told her that?" Harry asked.

"…No."

Harry sighed again. "Then how's she supposed to know? She can't read your mind, Ron." When he didn't answer, Harry groaned loudly. "You need to tell her what you're feeling. You need to work things out. Either that, or just try and salvage a friendship."

Ron looked almost close to tears. "I love her, Harry. But she drives me CRAZY! And she won't talk to me now! Not after what I said!" He said, guilt-ridden. "I'm such an idiot."

Harry stood and went to sit by his best friend. "I've got Ginny talking to her right now. And if anybody can get her to talk to you again, it's your sister. If you're sure you'll be able to talk to her calmly and tell her what you feel, you can meet her in the common room."

Ron looked puzzled. "What about everybody else?"

Harry put on a sheepish grin. "They'll be gone for another hour or so yet. I've got Dean and Neville telling everybody to stay away. And I've got Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati guarding the entrance."

"A joint effort for my relationship?" Ron asked, stunned.

Harry nodded sadly. "This fighting affects everybody, Ron. We want to see you guys getting along."

Ron nodded, rubbing his hands together. "I'll try, Harry. I really will try."

"Alright. I'll go see how Ginny's doing with Hermione." Harry told him, rising off the bed. "Go down to the common room. Start thinking about what you're going to say to her. And please…don't lose your temper!"

Ginny was sitting beside Hermione on her bed. Hermione herself was lying down on it, her face half buried in the pillow. She hadn't stopped crying, no matter how hard Ginny tried.

"I can't! I just can't!" Hermione said, sobbing hard.

Ginny was stroking her head. "Yes, you can. I know you can, Hermione! I'm sure he feels HORRIBLE for saying that to you!" He had better! I'll kill him if he doesn't!, Ginny thought acidly. "You know how he is, with his temper."

There was a light knock on the door of the dorms. Hermione shot up like a bullet, wiping her face. Ginny motioned her to remain where she was, and went to the door. "Who is it?" Ginny asked quietly.

"It's Harry."

"Who is it?" Hermione asked from her bed.

Ginny turned to her. "Harry."

Hermione sighed in relief, and then sucked another breath in quickly. "Is HE with him?"

"Is Ron with you Harry?" Ginny asked patiently.

"No, he's waiting in the common room." She heard Harry respond.

"Ron's not with him, Hermione. Can I let him in now?" Hermione just nodded, sinking back into her bed. Ginny opened the door, admitting Harry. Harry came in slowly, shutting the door behind him. Ginny watched him go to Hermione.

"Hermione…are you okay?"

Hermione shook her head. "I can't talk to him, Harry! I won't!"

"He feels terrible, Hermione. He promises not too lose his temper if you go down and talk with him." Harry told her. "And I think you should apologize as well."

"Why should I apologize!?"

Harry shook his head. "You hit him, Hermione. Really hard! Wait till you see his face. It might bruise."

Hermione looked aghast. "I-I didn't realize I hit him that hard."

Harry nodded. "You should both apologize to each other. But don't just make up like you two always do."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what I told him. This fighting has got to stop. It's hurting everybody. You both need to talk things out. Tell each other how you feel. I know he's got a thing or two to say to you. But you really need to let each other know your problems with each other. He said he'd try his best not to lose his temper. And you've got to try not to overreact and not scold him. Just listen to him, Hermione. And he'll listen to you."

Hermione, being the more sensible of the two, nodded her head firmly. "Alright, Harry. I…I just need a moment to collect myself."

Harry nodded, giving her a smile. "I know you guys can pull through this if you try."

Ginny grinned at Harry. "Let's go tell him, Harry."

They both wished her luck, and proceeded downstairs to the common room. Ginny saw her brother, sitting on the sofa in deep thought. He was startled, jumping up as they approached.

Ginny gasped when she saw the glaringly red mark on his cheek. "She did get you good, didn't she?"

Ron looked down at the floor, miserably. "She's not coming down, is she?"

Harry shook his head. "She'll be down in a few minutes."

Ron looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"Have you thought about what you're going to say?" Harry asked.

Ron nodded quickly. "Yeah…I've got a good idea."

"Good." Harry noted, smiling approvingly. "We can't keep everybody out forever though."

"Can you keep Seamus, Dean, and Neville down here for a while though?" Ron asked. "I'll take her up there and talk with her…if she forgives me." Ron choked on the last few words.

Ginny couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "We'll wait here till you take her upstairs."

"Okay." Ron said, sitting back down on the sofa.

Harry and Ginny walked over to stand by the entrance, awaiting Hermione to come down.

Harry was silently praying to himself that Hermione would come down and see what she'd done to his face and feel bad. And also that Ron would see how red her eyes were from crying and feel bad. He could barely hear Hermione's light steps echoing from the stairwell. Ron had heard them too. His eyes shot to the stairs, and he stood up nervously. Hermione emerged from the stairs, her eyes immediately finding Ron. Her mouth dropped open, forming a perfect 'O'. She approached him, lifting her delicate fingers to his cheek where she had smacked him.

"Oh…oh Ron! I'm so sorry!" She said, a new bout of tears falling from her eyes.

Harry could see Ron's heart breaking in his face, as he watched her cry. "No. I deserved it. I'm sorry I called you that…it was horrible. I didn't even mean it! And I don't hate you."

"I don't hate you either, Ron." Hermione said, wiping her face furiously. "Harry and Ginny are right…we need to talk about this."

Ron nodded. "Yeah. Harry's gonna keep the other guys down here in the common room. We can talk in my dorm."

"Okay." She said, nodding to Ginny and Harry.

Harry smiled back at them, watching them ascend the stairs to their dorm. He turned to Ginny, giving her a quick but deep kiss. "Good job, Ms. Weasley."

"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Potter." She whispered, playing with a strand of his black hair.

"Let's go tell Seamus the good news so far." Harry said happily.

They opened the painting and stepped out into the tower's hall. There, they found Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati, along with Dean and Neville. The five of them halted in mid-conversation to stare at them.

"Well?" Lavender asked impatiently.

Harry smiled. "They're talking upstairs in our dorm room right now. I think they know how much they hurt each other tonight."

"So, we still can't go back up to our rooms?" Dean asked miserably.

"Oh have a heart, Dean!" Parvati reprimanded.

"It's cool." Seamus said, nonchalantly. "We can hang out in the common room for a while, guys."

"I just hope everything goes okay." Neville said anxiously.

"Me too, Neville." Harry told him. "Me too."

Ron motioned Hermione to sit next to him on his bed. She did, with plenty of space between them.

Hermione looked at him. "Where should we start?"

Ron thought for a moment. "How about tonight?" He asked her.

"Okay." She agreed.

Ron took a deep breath. Calm…stay calm. Don't screw this up!, he thought to himself. "Why didn't you come to watch us practice tonight?" He asked her, trying to keep his voice from sounding accusing.

Hermione looked at him questioningly. "I told you why, Ron. I had to do some research in the library."

Ron felt the familiar heat of anger in his face. No! Stay calm! He fought his anger for only a moment, feeling the heat die down. "Mione…" He said softly, using his pet name for her. "I know you like to study…but I really wanted you to come to practice tonight. I'm nervous about tomorrow's game! And it helps me play better if I know you're watching me."

Hermione blinked several times. "I…I didn't know that, Ron. Really? You really play better when I'm watching?" She asked, a slight smile gracing her mouth.

Ron smiled sheepishly. "I have to if you're watching! You always…" He paused, searching for the right wording. "You always make me want to do better at everything. Especially studying. I always feel I have to live up to being worthy of you." Ron spoke softy. "But the only thing I'm good at is Quidditch…and that's the only thing not important to you."

"But Ron…"

"I need to finish saying this before I lose the words." Ron interrupted, turning more toward her. "I try really hard to be good enough for you, Hermione. Like that essay for History of Magic last week! I worked really hard on that! But you didn't notice! You only notice all the mistakes I made!" Ron knew he was being too harsh, and had to stop himself for a moment. "It's always like that, Mione." He said quietly, heart-ache in his tone. "You never notice when I try hard or do something right. It makes me think I never do anything right. I'm…I'm not perfect. I'm not even good enough for you Hermione. But I try." He said, beginning to choke up.

Hermione's eyes had sprung fresh tears. "Oh Ron…"

Ron looked up at her, his own tears falling from his eyes. "Tell me what I have to do, Hermione! I never seem to make you happy! And I try so hard! What does it take!?"

Hermione shook her head. "I just want you to be happy, Ron. I'm the one who's not good enough for you!"

"What!?" Ron asked, seriously wondering if she'd lost her mind.

"I remember when you told me…how you felt about having to live up to your brothers." She said, biting her lip. "You're expected to do well, because of your older brothers. And you said that even if you did, it wouldn't matter, because they had done it first. I…I've been trying to help you do well. I want you to stand out from your brothers! I don't want you to study hard for me! I want you to do it for yourself!" She cried, desperately. "I thought that maybe, if you stood out from your brothers, you'd be happy. I love you so much, Ron! You're more brave and wonderful than all of your brothers! And when I try to tell you things to help you, you don't listen! It's like you want to be miserable!"

Ron shook his head. "I'm only miserable when we fight, Hermione! And in Potions…but everybody is miserable in Potions!"

"But you aren't happy! I only want that, Ron! For you to be happy. And I thought if I could help you get what you want, I'd be good enough for you. That I'd done something right. But you don't listen to me! Anytime I mention the words 'library' or 'study', you roll your eyes and stop listening to me."

Ron shook his head. "That's because I don't want to go to the library or study all the time! I only want to be with you! You spend more time in that library and with your books than you do with me! I even make sure Harry doesn't run Quidditch practice too late so I can spend time with you!" He objected. "I mean…yeah, it used to bother me that I had so much to live up to. It bothered me that I became nonexistent when people saw Harry. But I don't care about that anymore! I don't care if don't stand out from my brothers! I have you!" He said sharply, and then realized he had. He paused, smiling at her. "I have you, Mione. In my book, that makes me the luckiest guy alive."

Hermione's lips were trembling. "I-I don't deserve you, Ron. I don't."

"Don't say that."

"But it's true!" She cried, balling her fists. "I've been wanting you to try harder and you have! But I haven't even noticed! I'm terrible!"

"I'm the one that's terrible!" Ron objected. "You're only trying to help me and I ignore you!"

Hermione sighed, taking Ron's hands in hers. "I think we both have been acting foolish."

Ron nodded. "Can you forgive your great prat of a boyfriend?"

Hermione smiled brightly. "As long as you can forgive your unappreciative girlfriend." She told him, raising her hand to his cheek.

"Ouch!" Ron gasped at her touch, looking slightly confused. He rose and looked in the mirror at his cheek. His eyes bulged. "Bloody hell, Mione! I didn't even know it was that bad!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry it took this much to knock some sense into me." Ron told her. "But you think you can fix this?"

"Of course!" Hermione said, whipping out her wand. She muttered an incantation and the now slightly bruised mark disappeared. "That better?"
Ron touched his cheek, feeling no pain. But he grinned slyly. "A little."

Hermione shook her head and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "How about that?"

He didn't answer her. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her soundly on the lips. He pulled his lips away, but kept her in his arms. "I'm never gonna ignore you again, Mione. I'm going to try not to lose my temper with you either. And I'll try harder for myself, because I want to be with you forever. I wanna be able to take care of you. I promise, Hermione."

Hermione sighed happily. "And I will be encouraging, not nagging you. And I won't be so stubborn. I promise. I want to be with you forever too. I love you, Ron."

"I love you, Mione. So much." Ron told her, kissing her again.

Hermione had been giggling at something Ginny said as she ate her lunch in the Great Hall when Ron had called to her.

"Hermione!" He said excitedly, waving a piece of parchment in his hand.

Hermione looked surprised. "Is that our mid-term results?"

Ron, sitting down next to her, tossed an envelope to Harry, and then one to Hermione. "Yeah, but I haven't opened mine yet." He responded.

Harry took his, tearing the envelope open. He read the parchment for a few moments and then smiled. He handed it to Ginny, seated next to him.

Ginny smiled in turn. "You did really well Harry!" She said, handing the paper to Hermione.

She read the paper, with Ron reading over her shoulder. "Yes, Harry, you did very well! Except for Potions, but the better we do in that class, the lower grade we get."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Hermione. Now, let's see your grades. Even though we know they're all excellent."

Hermione rolled her eyes, opening her envelope carefully and taking out the parchment. She scanned the paper with a smile, then her eyes widened at one point.

Ron raised an eyebrow, taking the parchment from her. He read it, then when he got to what Hermione had looked at last, his eyes widened as well. "Wow!"

"What is it?" Harry asked, thinking she'd done badly at something.

"Snape gave her a 'B'!!! He NEVER gives a Gryffindor a 'B'!"

Ginny clapped her hands together. "Good job, Hermione!"

Hermione laughed. "Thanks Ginny. It's your turn, Ron."

Ron looked at his envelope uncertainly. "Here, you do it. I don't wanna look."

Hermione groaned, taking the envelope from him. "Fine." She opened the envelope and looked at the paper inside. This time her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

Ron took this as a sign of devastation. "They're horrible, aren't they!?"

Hermione looked at him and quickly gave him a very passionate kiss. This made everybody look at them. She pulled away, shoving the paper at his chest. "Look." She said simply.

Ron looked at his paper and smiled. "Wow! I did okay!"

"Okay? Okay!? You did great, Ron! Wonderful, in fact!" Hermione took the paper from him and gave it to Ginny.

"Congratulations Ron!" His sister said happily, reading the letter.

Ron shook his head. "It's Hermione you should be congratulating. She might make a student out of me yet." He looked at her lovingly. Then he turned to Harry. "And you, mate. I owe you big time."

Hermione agreed. "You're a great friend, Harry. We both owe you."

Harry looked at Ginny nervously, then back at Hermione. "Well, can you do me a big favor, Hermione?"

"Anything."

"Can you make sure Ron doesn't kill me?" Harry asked, glancing at Ron.

Ron looked puzzled. "Why would I want to kill you?"

Harry swallowed hard. "Because I've been dating your sister for four months."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?"

Seamus had been sitting with Dean and Neville at lunch when he heard Ron yelling. Harry had broken into a run out of the Great Hall, followed by a bellowing Ron, with Hermione and Ginny at his heels. "Harry must have finally told him about Ginny."

Neville groaned loudly. "Now they'll all be fighting again!"

Seamus shook his head. "Nah…Ron will get over it…if Hermione can manage to catch up to him."

Dean chuckled. "Some things will never change."

A/N: How do you like it? It's just a little fic that came to mind before I continued with 'I Surrender'.