Author: Junius
Summary: One-shot. Ron's in a bad mood and the day's only getting worse… can Hermione help him feel better?
Notes: This isn't set at any particular time. As always, all reviews are welcome!
Disclaimer: They're not mine, they just followed me home.
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I See YouRon Weasley had been getting increasingly fed up. He couldn't say for sure what had triggered it, but lately he'd been feeling very insecure and self-piteous. He was quite convinced he was a nobody and that no one ever noticed him.
All the evidence was there. No matter whether he was with family or friends, no one ever noticed him. Bill had always been the "cool" Weasley, Charlie the athlete, Percy the smart on, Fred and George were popular no matter what they did and even Ginny had earned a reputation as being sweet.
But Ron was nothing. He didn't do anything special. He wasn't smart or logical like Hermione. He wasn't brave or determined like Harry. He was nobody. The Boy-Who-Lived's sidekick. Charlie's little brother. Nobody.
And on top of all that, today was becoming a more and more likely candidate for the title of 'Ronald Weasley's Worst Day Ever'.
He had slept in that morning and arrived in Transfiguration fifteen minutes late, earning him a severe reprimanding from McGonagall. Then he had messed up during Potions and incurred the wrath of Snape, who already felt no small amount of wrath against him. That action had earned him a detention. Then he had had to miss lunch to do his Divination homework, which he had forgotten and, to top it all off, he had gotten into a fight with Hermione at dinner about spew.
Life just wasn't fair.
Ron cursed his existence as he trudged back towards Gryffindor Tower. He had just finished his detention with Snape, a fun-filled evening of cleaning out the cupboard in which Snape kept his personal supply of potion ingredients. It had been absolutely disgusting and Ron felt he wouldn't be at all surprised if he contracted some sort of horrible disease from simply touching the slime that had encrusted every surface.
At last he reached the portrait hole. "Bubotuber," he muttered.
"My, we're in a right nasty mood, aren't we?" the Fat Lady tutted as she opened up.
Ron ignored her and clambered through the portrait hole, hoping that the common room would be empty. He glanced around and saw, to his disappointment, a familiar figure sitting on the couch by the fire.
Hermione turned and gave him a small smile. "Hey," she greeted him. "How was the detention?"
Ron groaned as he flopped down on the other end of the couch. "What do you think?" he said irritably. Hermione's smile faded a little.
"It was just a question," she said flatly. Ron glanced at her.
"What are you still doing up, anyway?" he asked her impatiently. "Haven't quite managed to write a hundred feet on your essay yet?"
Hermione glared at him. "For your information," she said angrily. "I felt bad about the fight we had at dinner and so I decided to wait up for you and apologise! But clearly you're in no mood to hear it, so I'd be better off in bed!"
With that she turned and stormed off toward the girls' dormitory. Ron closed his eyes and groaned.
"Hermione?" he called over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Really. I was already in a bad mood and the rotten day I've just had only made it worse."
There was silence for a moment and then Hermione reappeared at his side. "Well, don't take it out on me," she said crossly, sitting back down on the couch. Her expression softened slightly. "Why were you in such a bad mood?"
Ron shifted in his seat. "You wouldn't understand," he replied. Hermione continued to look at him, her expression patient.
"How do you know?" she asked him. Ron shrugged.
"Because you're perfect?" he said. Hermione's jaw dropped.
"What… what did you say?" Ron refused to meet her gaze.
"I said, 'Because you're perfect'," he said with a trace of annoyance. "And I'm not. I'm just a nobody."
Hermione seemed to understand. "Ron," she said gently. "You're not a nobody. Just because people always look at Harry first, doesn't mean that he's any better than you and–"
"That's not it, Hermione!" Ron cried out suddenly, interrupting her. "That's only part of it! I'm nobody! No one ever notices me, I'm just Harry Potter's sidekick or Percy's little brother or Hermione's friend!"
"That's not true, Ron," Hermione started, but again, Ron cut her off.
"It is true!" he said, all of his tensions bubbling to the surface and spilling over. "I can't fly like Harry or be as smart as you! I'm not funny like Fred and George or nice to everyone like Ginny! I'm not special. I'm stupid and tactless and clumsy and I can't do anything. No one ever sees me!"
"I see you."
She had spoken so softly that, for a moment, Ron wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly. He looked at Hermione, shocked into silence. This seemed to encourage Hermione, as she continued.
"I think you're special," she said, just as softly.
Ron just stared at her. Hermione swallowed with some difficulty and kept going, her words pouring out in a torrent as if they had been building up inside of her.
"Maybe you can't fly as well as Harry, but you can play chess better than him. And maybe you can't play pranks the way Fred and George can, but you've got your own sense of humour which everyone loves. And maybe you're not as smart as me, but you still try and you still do well. And Ginny might be seen as the "sweet" one, but you're loyal to your friends."
Hermione exhaled shakily and steadfastly looked at the flickering flames in the fireplace. Ron continued to gape at her wordlessly.
"You think I'm special?" he finally managed to croak. "Why?"
Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat and mumbled something Ron couldn't hear. "What?" he asked her; suddenly desperate to know why she thought he was so special. "What did you say?"
"I said you're special because you're the only one who can make me feel the way I do," Hermione said in a low voice, still staring at the fire. Ron suddenly felt an incredible warmth spread through him.
"I make you feel… Hermione… I…" he said incoherently, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. Hermione stood abruptly, her face flaming.
"I think it's time we both went to bed," she said briskly. "Hopefully tomorrow you won't be feeling so ridiculously self-piteous."
She turned and nearly ran to the staircase to the girls' dormitory. Ron stood quickly and turned around. "Hermione!"
She paused and turned to face him apprehensively. Ron smiled shyly at her.
"You're special too."
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Yay! Another story up! Forgive me if it's a little too sweet and syrupy but I'm very tired and it hasn't been betaed. Speaking of which, would any one be willing to be my beta? I'd be more than happy to return the favour, as I'm offering my services to whomsoever needs them.
I've finally finished this semester's work so I'm going to try and post as many stories as I can before I'm bogged down with essays again. By the way, if anyone can recommend some good R/Hr stories that aren't TOO fluffy, please do so in an email or review! Much thanks!