Chapter One
Hermione wanted to pull her hair out. Why were boys so blind to what was right in front of them? It wasn't as if she hadn't made it obvious to him over the years. In fact, she felt as though she had been more than obvious. However he still remained oblivious to the fact that she was alive, so to speak.
She was determined that this year would be different. She wasn't going to allow herself to be brushed aside by Ronald Weasley. Oh no, this year she was going to show him exactly what he was missing out on.
Hermione checked her reflection in her mirror and smiled to herself. If she played her cards right, there was going to be no way Ron would be able to ignore her anymore. As she left her room, she grabbed her school bag and mentally went down her list of things she needed for school; she didn't want to leave anything behind after all.
About two hours later, Hermione was standing on Platform 9 ¾ waiting for her friends so that they could get a compartment together. She didn't have to wait long though, just moments after putting her things into the cargo hold, Hermione heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned and smiled brightly as a young woman with flaming red hair approached her. "Hey, Ginny," she said.
"Wow, look at you," Ginny said, giving her friend a big hug, "Trying to get someone's attention?"
Hermione smiled. "You could say that," she said.
Ginny's brown eyes looked her over as she nodded and smiled in approval. "I like it," she said, "Not that you didn't look fine before, mind you."
"It's not too drastic is it?" Hermione questioned, chewing on her bottom lip.
Ginny shook her head. "Not at all, it's not like you've changed your appearance," she commented, "You've just got a sleeker look now. It's actually quite fitting considering how sophisticated you are."
"Thanks, Gin," Hermione replied, "Oh, he's coming."
Ginny pushed her things into the cargo hold and turned to see her brother and Harry walking toward them. She smiled and wrapped her arms around Harry's waist and kissed his cheek when he reached her. "What took you two so long?" she asked, "You were right behind me a bit ago."
Harry chuckled as Ron began mumbling under his breath. "Ron caught sight of Lavender snogging some bloke from Hufflepuff," he told her, "They were nearly gnawing each other's faces off."
Hermione scoffed when she heard this. "That sounds familiar," she said.
Harry laughed at her comment and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, glad I'm not seeing that all the time anymore."
You and me both, Harry, Hermione thought.
Ginny made a face and said, "You're telling me. That's something I never want to see again."
"I can hear you, ya know," Ron said.
"Well it's not like we were trying to be secretive about our conversation," Ginny told him.
Ron scowled at her and slid his trunk into the cargo hold forcefully. "Well maybe you should think about a person's feelings before you start poking fun at them," he said before stalking off.
Hermione's jaw dropped slightly. "Does he still have feelings for Lavender?"
"I guess so," Harry said with a shrug, "Though I don't understand why he would."
Hermione's brow furrowed as she followed after Ron. Even though she wasn't happy about the fact that Ron might still harbor feelings for his ex-girlfriend, she wasn't about to let one of her friends be alone in a time of need. "Ron!" she called.
Ron kept walking, causing her to run so that she could catch up to him. "Ron…"
"Hermione, I'm not in the mood for a pep talk alright?" Ron said when she finally reached him.
Hermione grabbed his arm and yanked him slightly. "For your information, I wasn't coming to give you a pep talk," she snapped, letting go of his arm, "And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't bite my head off."
Ron ran his hand through his hair and sighed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you just now, but I really just want to be alone right now."
"Ron, I…"
Ron stopped walking and looked at her for the first time. "Hermione…"