A/N: For the AVPM challenge. Quote: "It's Hermione. It's just every time I look at her, I get these pains in my chest, and I know it's all her fault. That bitch!" Characters: Ron/Snape. I took this two ways, this is the serious one.
Disclaimer: I don't own HP or AVPM.
Severus Snape watched as a weary Ronald Weasley entered his potions classroom.
"Start cleaning the cauldrons; those should occupy you for the allotted hour."
The redhead sat down at the table, resting his head on the surface.
Snape looked up at his sigh.
"Weasley, the point of this detention is for you to clean those cauldrons, not sigh on them."
"Oh, yeah, sorry, Professor."
Snape turned back to the pile of papers in front of him once Ron started scrubbing the first of the cauldrons.
"How is it, Weasley, that in the passage of fifteen minutes, you have not cleaned one of these cauldrons?"
The redheaded boy looked up. "Sorry, professor, I guess I'm just out of it, today."
He hen returned to scrubbing the cauldron, with slightly more vigor than before.
Teenagers, Snape thought. He internally sighed- that facial expression was too familiar for Snape to ignore.
"Are you, well, Weasley?" There was a hesitation in Snape's voice.
"Huh?"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, boy, are you alright?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess. I mean it's just Hermione."
What did I get myself into?
"I just can't get her off my mind. And thinking about her makes me sad, I guess." Ron's mind was obviously too occupied to realise who he was admitting his problems to.
"Do you think she could have charmed me, Professor?"
Not the way you think, Weasley.
"You're in love, you imbecile." His scathing tone turned bitter. "Go get her before someone steals her."
Snape watched realisation flood over his student's face, before he ran out of the room.
The next day, Ron Weasley walked into Potions carrying two sets of books.
The whole class, he stared at the bushy-haired girl next to him.
"Weasley." Snape called as the students poured out of the classroom.
"You can finish your detention tonight." He pointed to a larger pile of dirty cauldrons.
"Okay, Professor. Thanks for your, uh, advice."
He could hear Hermione's voice from the corridor, "Why didn't you finish your detention last night?"
Snape waved his wand at the door; there was only so much he could do too help his students without starting to actually feel joy.
