Jealousy

Hermione Granger sat on a bench outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Typically, she would be inside, sitting with Ron and Harry. Yet lately there has been an unwanted addition to their small group, and that addition being Lavender Brown. Lavender isn't a horrible person, just a terrible nuisance. Hermione still didn't understand how Ron could put up with her. All she wanted to do was snog him! When she wasn't doing that she was complaining, in that annoying squeaky voice of hers: Won-Won, I'm cold. Won-Won, are you listening to me? Won-Won, why are you talking to anyone else but me? Me! Me! Me! Hermione's stomach couldn't bear being in the same room as them for more than five minutes, though even that seemed like torture.

So here she sat, pretending to be engrossed in her book, while he sat in the cafeteria with her. The worst of it all was that he had no clue what he was doing to her. He was just that clueless! Couldn't he tell it was tearing her apart, seeing them together? Didn't he know that she wanted to be the only girl he snogged or even touched? No, he didn't. He was blinded by Lavender's rather large tits and deafened by that nasally voice of hers. She couldn't reach him, the ignorant, bloody bloke. She felt tears sting the corners of her eyes.

She was then disrupted from her thoughts by none other than Harry Potter.

"Hermione...you okay?" he asked, rather concerned. He knew of Hermione's feelings toward Ron and felt terrible seeing her so worked up.

Hermione wiped the edges of her eyes with her sleeve, "Yes," she said groggily.

Harry knew she wasn't fine, and that she wouldn't be until Ron and Lavender broke up. He had gone through this himself, when he had to stand by and watch Ginny date Dean Thomas. Now that was all under the bridge, though. They were officially a couple.

He looked down and gave her a sympathetic smile, "Why don't you come in to have a bit to eat, yeah?"

Hermione pouted and muttered, "I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself," he sighed "but I'll have you know, they made your favorite today..."

At this Hermione stood up, "Blueberry pancakes?"

"Indeed," he nodded.

Hermione bit her lip, then smiled, "I guess it couldn't hurt..."

For the first time in her life, Hermione was wrong. At least the first time that she could recall... Being in the cafeteria hurt...very much so. Although the blueberry pancakes looked as delicious as usual, she had lost her appetite upon entering the large room. They were still at it. How can they hold their breaths for so long? She thought. She then took a seat beside Harry, not saying a word to Ron.

After about another five more minutes of sticking his tongue down Lavender's throat, Ron finally seemed to notice Hermione's existence.

"Mione, when did you get here?" he asked.

"About five minutes ago," she practically whispered.

"What's that you say?"

"About five minutes ago," she said harshly, her voice cracking a bit on the end.

"Geez, well don't get your knickers in a bunch. I was only asking..."

Hermione remained silent.

"It's your favorite today, by the way. Blueberry pancakes," he looked down at the ground and his cheeks flushed a bit. He looked up at her through his eyelashes. Damn, him, she thought. Why does he have to be so unbelievably attractive? She then realized she was staring at him and felt her cheeks heat up.

"You remembered," she smiled. He smiled too, and for a moment they were just staring at each other with goofy grins plastered on their faces. She then heard someone clear their throat. It was Lavender, of course. This seemed to bring Ron back to reality.

"Yeah, well it's Lav's favorite too, so it's easy to remember..." he mumbled quickly, then shoved some food in his mouth. Lavender smiled widely at his remark, flashing all of her white teeth. She must use a teeth whitening spell, Hermione decided, no one's teeth are that white.

"Oh, Won-Won, you are just too sweet! C'mere!" she pulled him into a tight embrace, making him drop his fork, and began to snog him senseless. Hermione grasped onto her stomach as if she were holding herself together. She felt sick, and decided she could no longer sit there and watch. So she got up, slamming her hands against the table, and ran off wordlessly. Harry stood, getting ready to follow her. Ron then pulled away from Lavender, which made her very displeased.

"What the bloody hell was her problem?" Ron asked. Harry had to suppress an eye-roll. Sometimes Ron was just so oblivious.

"I don't know. I'm going to go find out," he answered. As he left the cafeteria, he could hear Lavender whining about how Ron 'pushed' her.

The first place Harry looked for Hermoine was the library, and when he didn't find her there, he grew worried. He then went to the dormitories, and gave a soft rap on her door. To his surprise Ginny answered. She was wearing a spaghetti strap, green camisole and the gray skirt that was mandatory at Hogwarts (though girls could wear the dress pants if they wished). She looked so good to him, he almost forgot why he was there.

"Is Hermoine in there, love?" he asked.

"No, haven't seen her."

"That bloody bloke," Harry muttered to himself.

"What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked, stroking his arm.

"Ron. He's just being absolutely ridiculous," he sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Well, does that shock you?" she giggled, "What did he say to her this time?"

"Ugh, nothing, he just... He can be so oblivious at times."

"I don't believe I follow you?"

Harry looked down, contemplating. He could tell Ginny about Hermoine's feelings towards Ron, and maybe she could help, yet he swore to keep it a secret. Then again, Ginny would be quite upset to find that he was keeping something from her. She seemed to have a way of knowing. He supposed it just came down to who scared him more: Hermoine or Ginny.

He then swiftly ran into Ginny's room, pulling Ginny along with him. He slammed the door shut behind them. Ginny now stood leaning against the door, while Harry's right hand rested against the door, beside her arm.

"Okay, but you need to promise not to tell," Harry said frantically.

"Not a soul," she confirmed "just spit it out."

"Hermoine is in love with Ron," he stated blatantly.

Ginny's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yes, but you must not tell anyone. She'll kill me."

"I highly doubt that, Harry," she grinned.

"Do not underestimate Miss Granger," he said with a bit of a laugh.

Ginny then noted the proximity between the two of them and started to blush. The hand that was pressed against the door was quite close to her arm, and his breath was fanning her face when he spoke. She looked up at him with lustful eyes and found that he was looking at her the same exact way.

"Ron will come to his senses," she practically whispered.

"He better, I don't think I can handle too many more meals with him and Lavender snogging the entire time," Harry laughed.

"Mm, not very appealing to look at..."

"Indeed," he conceded

"Although," Ginny said, a devilish smile appearing, "I'm seeing something rather appealing right now."

Harry didn't know what to say to that so he let his body respond for him, his hand moving from the door, to her arm, slowly making its way down to her waist. He then kissed her sweetly. She returned the kiss, slowly building it up. Suddenly, she did something they had never yet tried before in their new relationship: she slipped her tongue across his bottom lip. Harry froze, at first, unsure how to respond. He then opened his mouth, granting her access, and boy was he happy he did that. He had promised himself to never pressure Ginny into doing anything in their relationship. He knew that Dean Thomas had. Yet Ginny seemed more than willing at this moment, and he didn't have any complaints. Of course, he wouldn't force her to take it any farther.

Ginny then pulled away, in need of air. Harry obliged, then began to kiss and suck down her jawline, to her neck, until he reached the hollow between her neck and shoulder.

"Harry," Ginny breathed. He just groaned against her as he began to scrape his teeth gently against her smooth skin, making her yelp a bit. He instantly pulled back when he heard that he had hurt her.

"Sorry love," he said, breathing rather heavily.

"Don't be," she smiled. She then placed her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in, yet this was quickly disrupted when they heard a hard knock on the door, followed by Ron's voice.

"Hermione, you in there?" he called. He sounded indifferent.

The pair instantly pulled away. Ginny's eyes widened. "Harry, my neck. C-can you tell?"

"Crap!" he hissed, "Lemme just-"

He was interrupted by Ron again. "Come on Hermione, I know your mad at me... Can we please just talk about it?"

Harry pulled Ginny's hair over the freshly bruised skin, masking it, and tried to remain unseen as she opened the door. As close as he and Ron were, he knew that Ron wouldn't approve of his assaulting her neck, nor would the idea of them being in her bedroom alone be any more comforting. For a moment Harry thought about how unfair it was. He had to suffer through watching "Won-Won" and "Lav" suck faces, so why couldn't he do the same with his girlfriend? He knew Ron was just being a good, protective brother, but couldn't help but be a little bothered by it.

Ginny looked up at her brother, who looked incredibly unhappy.

"She's not in here," she stated.

"Sure she's not," he replied sarcastically as he began to make his way in the room. Harry ran into the closet.

"See, I told you," Ginny said proudly, "what's going on anyway?"

"Hermione stormed off this morning at breakfast. Normally I just figure it's her being her moody self-"

"You're one to talk!" Ginny blurted.

"And what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Ron questioned.

"Listen to yourself," she said, "anyway, so she ran off this morning?"

"Yeah, and at first I didn't get why, but then Seamus told me that Luna told Neville, who told him that I upset Hermione. Don't know what the bloody hell I did wrong but-"

"Well, she's not here," Ginny answered abruptly, remembering Harry was still somewhere in this room.

"Well, you're loads of help," he muttered.

"Don't blame me for your mess," she exclaimed with a smirk and began to push him out of the room.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving! Just let me say bye to Harry first... Bye Harry..."

Ginny turned a bright red. Even more so when she heard Harry call out from her closet, "Bye Ron."

After leaving Hermione and Ginny's dorm, Ron didn't know where to go next. Hermione wasn't in the library, which was practically her home. It was the weekend, so there were no classes... Where else could she be? All he knew was that he needed to find her. He didn't have much time, since Lavender would be hanging off of his arm any moment now. He had told her that he needed an hour, and he already wasted thirty minutes of it simply looking for the girl. He knew that once Lavender returned, Hermione wouldn't want to be near him. She really hated Lavender, for reasons he did not quite understand.

Just for the heck of it, Ron headed down to the common room. He knew Hermione was never big on the typically crowded hangout, but who knows, maybe she would go there for that very reason. To his surprise she was there, sitting in the corner reading. Typical Hermione, he chuckled to himself.

As he made his way over to her, he saw she wasn't alone. Sitting on the sofa beside her was Cormac McLaggen, aka his arch nemesis. What the bloody hell was she doing with him? Ron was fuming. He could feel his face burn up, and his fists clenched. He then heard Hermione giggle at something Cormac said. Since when does she giggle? He approached the duo.

"Hello, Cormac, Hermione..." he said, tightly. He tried to keep his temper in check but was struggling, more so by the minute.

"Hey Ron," Cormac smiled smugly. Hermione, who looked a sickly pale at the moment, muttered out a small hi.

Ron then realized he had no clue what to say. He didn't even know why he came up to them to begin with. He was too far gone to back out now though.

"What are you two up to?" he questioned. He didn't realize how nosy he sounded until after the words came out.

"Nothing," Hermione said.

"We were just talking about going to the library to have a little study date," Cormac added with a wink. Ron didn't like how Cormac emphasized the word 'study', nor did he like the idea of Hermione hanging with him. Period.

"Oh, really?" Ron asked. "Well, if you don't mind Cormac, I need to steal Hermione away for a moment." Ron was truly struggling to keep himself composed. Before Hermione could protest, Ron took her by the arm and dragged her out into the hall.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" she hissed.

"What's wrong with me? Since when do you hang out with guys like Cormac?" Ron's voice was filled with disdain and disapproval as he said his name.

"I'm not hanging out with 'guys like Cormac', I'm hanging out with Cormac, who in fact, is not as bad as you say he is..." Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively.

"Rubbish! That boy is a prat and you know it, Hermione!" Ron bellowed, taking a step closer so he was towering over her.

"Well, prat or no prat, I can hang out with whoever I please!" she argued, lunging up onto her tiptoes so her face was level with his. Their fuming faces were now rather close, and both could feel each other's breath fanning their faces.

"I thought you were smart Hermione," Ron said, a little softer than he had intended. His eyes quickly glanced down to her lips.

"What do you care, anyway?" Hermione responded weakly. By now her anger had faded, only leaving her back to a hurt and confused state.

"I-I just do..." he whispered.

It took all of Hermione's willpower to say the next two words, "Well, don't."

Ron watched his best friend make her way back to the sofa and continue talking to the bloody bloke. He then went off to look for Lavender...

When Hermione got back to her room, it was dinner time. She was in no mood to eat, and was definitely not ready to face Ron after their fight. Why was he so difficult? She was finally starting to forget how upset she was with him before he had to storm over there and make an absolute ass of himself. Then again, she was partially relieved he had done so. She was quickly growing tired of Cormac's constant inquiries and boastful comments. Luckily for her, she got to use her sour mood as an excuse for her apparent disinterest in Cormac, although it was still rather hard to get that idea through his thick head.

At first, he took her 'I'm not really in the mood to talk' as an invitation to kiss her, and when she corrected him on this, he accused her of playing hard to get. Finally, when she told him she was just 'really, really tired' he gave up. He gave her a slobbery kiss on her cheek, and moments later she was pretty sure she saw him go flirt with Cho Chang. The bloody bastard. She knew Ron had been right about him all along, but was too proud to admit it.

Harry and Ginny were in the room, in a less-than-innocent pose on her bed. Harry was kneeling above her, his usually neat hair, tousled and sprouting out in all different directions. Ginny's hands were resting on his shoulders. Both of their lips were puffy and red. Hermione tried to pretend she didn't see anything as she climbed into her bed.

"Hermione," Harry said blushing, as he quickly climbed off of Ginny and straightened out his shirt.

"Hello, Harry," she answered "please, don't let me be a burden."

"No, no, you're not. Right Ginny?" Harry nudged his girlfriend's shoulder.

"No, no, of course not," Ginny smiled, but Hermione could tell that she certainly was.

They all stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments.

"Um, well we ought to head to dinner, right Harry?" Ginny exclaimed in a hurried voice.

"Ah, yes, of course," Harry said nervously. Ginny began to walk out. "Be right there," Harry called out to her. He walked over to Hermione's side of the room and sat on the edge of her bed.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Bloody perfect!" she responded sarcastically.

"You sounded just like Ron there," he laughed.

"Don't mention that prat around me!" Hermione scowled and sunk under her covers.

"Uh-oh, he must've really messed up this time..."

"Big time."

Harry then heard Ginny call him. "Will you be alright?" he asked his friend with a worried look.

"Don't be silly, you go. I will be just fine."

Harry was hesitant to leave, but he did as she requested. When he and Ginny arrived in the cafeteria, he scanned the room to spot Ron. Of course, he sees him over in the corner with Lavender. Ugh, she was like a rash: Annoying and extremely hard to get rid of.

Harry plastered a fake smile as he approached the pair. Ron jumped up as soon as he saw them, resulting in Lavender, who was sitting on his lap, to topple over. She pouted as she got back to her feet. Harry had to try hard not to laugh.

"Harry, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. He then paused, "Where's Hermione?" Although he was still quite mad at her, he wanted to try and make amends, at least before they both went to sleep.

"Oh, she said she's not feeling well..." Harry lied. Ron could see right through him.

"Maybe I should go up and check on her," Ron suggested.

Lavender then piped in, "Won-Won, you heard Harry, she's not feeling well. Leave her alone."

Ron scowled at this. When did she suddenly care about Hermione?

"No, I'm going to go check on her..." he decided.

Lavender, who had grown quite sick of Ron's constant worry over Hermione, decided this was the last straw.

"Ronald Weasley," she called as he started walking out of the cafeteria. A crowd of kids began to circle them. Harry was simply amazed that she finally said his name right. "If you leave this cafeteria we are so over!" she declared.

"Oh, well..." he pretended to think for a moment, "I guess we're done then," he shrugged as he walked out of the cafeteria. Many of the students cheered, while Lavender huffed and scuffled off, her girl friends trailing behind, saying comforting things like "you were way too good for him anyways".

"Glad that's over," Ginny exclaimed as things settled down.

"About time if you asked me," Harry grinned. They exchanged a knowing glance, then continued eating their meal.

Ronald Weasley was once again a single man. He didn't know whether this was good or bad yet. He wouldn't know until he spoke with Hermione. Yes, Ron was in love with Hermione Granger. This much he was sure of. He loved how incredibly insightful she was, and how spunky she could be. He thought her unruly brown hair was perfect and he couldn't begin to describe how delightful her mouth looked to him. He knew she had some insecurities with her teeth, but he saw no flaws, in fact, her mouth looked quite kissable to him. He knew though that her heart was with someone else. Whether it was still with that Viktor Krum fellow, or the vile Cormac, he didn't know. Though he ached to find out.

He lightly knocked on the door. When he heard no response he tried once more.

"Harry, for the hundredth time I'm not coming to-" he heard her call as she opened the door. Her face suddenly grew rather pale. "Dinner," she finished in a whisper.

"So I was told," Ron said.

"Ron," was all she could say.

"Yes, and you are Hermione, remember?" he teased.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her tone was hard, and Ron hated it.

"Just wanted to come up and, uh, check on you," he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"What for?" she asked bitterly.

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay?" he blurted. It was not in his nature to apologize so quickly and Hermione was caught off guard by this.

"Pardon?"

"Don't make me say it again," he joked. She didn't seem to think he was very funny though, for her face only grew more serious. "Can I come in?" he asked.

"Fine," she exclaimed, opening the door a little wider, then closing it when he walked through. She sat on her bed, while he sat on Ginny's.

"So why exactly are you here?" she questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"Lavender and I broke up," he said out of the blue. He didn't understand why he had to say it, but for some reason he felt as if a great weight had been lifted when he did.

"Yes, well that's lovely, but I don't see what that has to do with me..." she found her heart beating erratically, waiting his response.

"Nothing," he exclaimed flatly, "just thought you'd like to know," he muttered, averting his eyes. Her heart sunk. The two remained silent for a few minutes.

"So, how was the library with Cormac?" Ron eventually asked. He couldn't hold his curiosity in any longer.

"It didn't happen," Hermione said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she looked down towards her feet, "I've told you before Ron, I have no interest in him."

"Then why were you flirting with him?"

"He approached me!" she defended, her voice raising louder than she intended, "I was simply being polite!"

"Looked to me like you were being a little too polite..." he muttered.

"And what do you care?" she asked exasperated. Their constant arguing really took a lot out of her.

"You're my best friend Hermione, of course I'm going to care!" he argued sternly.

"I don't see you so involved in Harry's love life..." she accused.

"Harry can take care of himself-"

"Oh and I can't?" she quipped.

"Well you haven't made wonderful choices so far! Hanging out with Cormac..."

"Why do you keep dragging Cormac into this? It's not like I snogged him for goodness sake! Though I can't say the same about you and Lavender..."

"She was my girlfriend, Hermione!"

"Yes, Ron. She was your girlfriend. That doesn't mean you need to snog her every minute of everyday!"

This angered Ron, who did she think she was? Telling him he couldn't snog his girlfriend. "I'll snog whoever I want, when I want!" he bellowed.

"Oh really?" Hermione asked, putting her hands on her hips. She was fuming. She looks so hot when she's mad, Ron thought. Before he could register what he was doing, he crashed his lips down on hers.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock and she was frozen. She could barely register what was happening until she felt Ron's tongue glide across her bottom lip. She instantly gave him access, her mind reeling. Ron's kissing me! Ron's kissing me! She kept saying this in her head over and over. Then, suddenly, it all registered. Ron's kissing me? Although Hermione had been desiring this moment for so long, she wasn't enjoying it. It wasn't a lack of chemistry, the way her body was responding to him told her that, but she didn't want him to kiss her just to prove a point. She wanted it to be real. She wanted him to open his eyes and look at her lovingly, rather than glare at her, waiting for her to admit she was wrong.

She instantly pulled away, causing Ron to open his eyes, confusion washing over his face. He then blushed deeply. Hermione didn't know what to say. Ron looked... disappointed that she stopped it. It was just to prove a point, she told herself again, not letting her imagination run away with her. He doesn't really care for me. She stood up and began to pace a bit.

"I-I'm sorry," Ron spluttered out.

"It's fine," she fibbed.

"No, Hermione. It's not," he groaned, pulling tufts of his red hair in aggravation.

"No, Ron. I get it. You proved your point."

"What point?" Ron asked, utterly confused.

"I was wrong, okay? You have the right to kiss Lavender, or whoever you want for that matter, whenever or wherever you please. I have no say..." Hermione looked to the floor. Ron stared at her, mouth agape.

"If you think this has anything to do with bloody Lavender, you've officially gone mental. That wasn't my point at all!" he finally retorted.

"Huh?" Hermione said, completely bewildered.

"I kissed you, Hermione, because I wanted to. I don't care about Lavender or any other girl, for that matter. In fact, I doubt I ever cared for any other girl as much as I've cared for you..." he stated boldly. Hermione stared at him, shocked. "I love you, Hermione," he finished.

There were no words to describe how happy she felt at that moment. Ron loves me, she said to herself over and over. She still couldn't wrap her head around it. She then realized Ron was waiting for an answer.

"I-I love you too Ron!" she said, tears dripping down her face, "So much!"

He slowly approached her again, cautiously this time, reaching out to wipe her wet cheek. He then tilted his head and kissed her. Unlike the previous kiss, it was not full of lust or passion, but something so much stronger. It was genuine love.