(A/N: I own nothing except for the plot & the additional characters.)
Hermione's Point of View:
As my breath came in short, ragged pants that appeared like mist in front of me, I knew I was in the dungeons. I hated coming down here. It was cold and clammy and gave me this incredibly bad feeling in my stomach, one that never left until I was breathing fresh air again. It was always surprising that the Slytherin dorms were down here. One could never understand why they could tolerate it. Maybe that's why they were always in such sour moods; it's perfectly understandable, being down her could put a damper on anyone's mood. But as mush as I hated coming down here there was always a motivation that tugged on my navel forcing me to take my nightly stroll down these darkened halls. I could never pin point why I always came here. Maybe it was the fact that being so scared gave me an adrenaline rush or my heart beat to quicken or my head to pound. Or maybe it was the fact that I could catch one glimpse of him.
Him. He who haunted me at night, who made me walk down here at the dead of night, no matter how tired I was. He who sent me dreams of caresses and nights of uninterrupted pleasure. And the funniest thing was that he had no idea of the feelings that I possessed for him. I don't know when I first started to feel a slight inclining towards him. I think it happened in Potions when his hand touched mine when we both reached for the charbroiled bats liver. Disgusting I know, but it felt like some sort of connection. Connection? For Christ's sake what kind of shit am I babbling on about? I'm turning into one the pathetic girls who talk about their newest crush. I'm exactly what I warned myself about. I never had a really crush, I mean Ron and I had a slight crush and then one day he finally asked me out. I wish I had never said yes. I remember no one thought it would work, boy, we probed them all wrong. For the first 5 months everything was great, Ron was surprising the opposite of what I thought he would be. He was sweet and romantic, yet he gave me my space and he was just a tad bit overprotective, but he was just Ron, I guess. Then things started turning sour, we were spending too much time together and he started fights whenever he saw me talking to some guy and then we would quarrel, and then the worst came. I remember it exactly word for word. It was 3 days before our 7th month anniversary and things may have been going downhill, well now they were just plummeting.
"Come on Mia, what do you want to do to celebrate? We could sneak through the passage and go to dinner in Hogsmeade," Ron sighed in frustration caused by the girl in front of him, who had yet to acknowledge him.
"Well?" This was getting ridiculous.
"Well what Ron? Frankly I'm a bit more occupied with studying for the N.E.W.Ts then thinking about how to spend our anniversary!" Hermione blew a stray piece of hair away from her face.
"Well I'm so glad that you care so much about our relationship! N.E.W.Ts are months away! You know it seems as if I'm the one that's fueling this relationship, I have to do all work! I organize everything and it's all for you!" Ron glared down at her.
"Ron, I'm not saying I don't appreciate everything you do for me, I really do, but I need to study. Lately we've been going out or I've been down at the pitch watching you practice and I haven't had time to get a lot of work done and I can't fall behind." She was trying to be soothing and was hoping to calm his temper. "Come sit down here and read with me." She patted the seat next to her and smiled up at him, but he wasn't having any of it. Those Weasley tempers were a pain in the ass.
"It's always about work isn't it? Well just to let you know Miss Prissy Pants, I could have a lot more girls who were willing to endanger their work status to have a good time. They would love the attention I'm wasting on you! They wouldn't mind seeing me play, they would see me for who I am and never ditch me for some damn school books. You know you think you're perfect and you're not Hermione and you never will be!" He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. He looked over at the fireplace and back to the brunette sitting on the couch with her mouth and eyes wide open.
"You can't really mean that, can you Ron?" Hermione sat there aghast. How the hell was she supposed to respond to this? Did he really mean that or was he just angry? Did everyone think of her like that as well?
"I'm not sure anymore Hermione, but all I know is that I can't do this anymore. Maybe we should take a break." Ron stared into the fireplace, too afraid to make eye contact. She looked down at the dusty tomb that lay across her lap. She quickly gathered her stuff and raced up the girl's dormitory stairs. As Ron stood staring at the spot where she had earlier occupied he could hear a door slam in the distance and a pair of feet racing up the stairs with shouts of "Hermione!"
"Excellent job Ronald! You really put your foot in your mouth this time. I swear guys are such pricks, if I could, I'd become a lesbian!" Ginny glared at him from her spot across the room. Harry looked away from the scene, pretending to be engrossed in his homework.
"Bugger." Ron snubbed his toe on the couch and walked up to his dormitory.
I shook my head to clear myself of my thoughts. That was almost a year ago, and the last time I had really spoken to Ron as a friend. Harry and I were still friends but it seemed a little strained now that Ron was out of the trio. Ginny tried several times to fill the void, but we all knew it wasn't the same and we should just stop trying. There were awkward times where I would have to sit next to Harry and Ron but I would keep silent just trying to get whichever task we were assigned done. I missed Ron, I would be lying if I said I didn't miss him now, but I know sooner or later I would be hurt again.