It started, Ron thinks, around the time Hermione dyed her hair.

Hermione is not a blonde. Hermione is a bushy-haired brunette, Hermione is his bushy-haired brunette.

"You think Harry'll like it?" Hermione asks Ron, twirling so he can get the full effect, and Ron glues on a grin and wishes he'd taken a picture before.

"Oh, yeah... yeah, I know he will..."

It's hard being in love with the girl asking you for romantic advice.

You know I'd do anything for you, right, Ron thinks to himself, staring at her, but it comes out as, "Wow, and eye makeup, too?"

"Yup." Hermione grins proudly. "I tried not to make it too over-the-top, you know, because that just wouldn't be me at all, but I know Harry likes girls with a little bit of makeup, and..."

Ron sees her trailing off and smiles. "Right. Right, he does." I don't, not really.

It's hard being in love with the girl in love with your roommate.

"Oh, Ronald, clean up a bit before dinner, would you please?"

Ron looks in the mirror, scrutinizing his reflection and completely unable to spot the offending dirt. "...I see nothing?"

"On your chin," she says, impatiently but not unkindly. "Here," she adds, and conjures a rag, wiping it for him. Ron thinks he will die.

It's hard being in love with the girl who'd wipe your chin without a second thought.

"You think the Charms final will be hard?" Hermione is chattering on, has been for the last five minutes, but all Ron has heard is a constant stream of words. He doesn't really care, either, because hearing Hermione talk has a way of jumbling words for him anyway. But she is asking for him input now. "Ron. Ron! Do you think it'll be hard?"

Ron looks slowly up at Hermione. "Honestly, Mione, I haven't given it much thought."

"But don't you want an "excellent" scoring?"

"Oh, Hermione, there's no way I could get an excellent. No way in hell."

"Well, not if you keep up this way..."

It's hard being in love with the smartest girl in your year.

"Ron, Ron, he asked me out!" Hermione screams, and she's jumping up and down and twirling, and for a second Ron thinks he can see up her skirt because she's twirling so fast, but figures he might as well be a gentleman, given the circumstances, and looks away.

"Who?"

"Who do you think?" she demands happily, and hugs Ron. "Harry! Harry and I are going to the Christmas Ball together!"

"That's wonderful," Ron says robotically.

"You okay?"

"I can't breathe with you hanging on me like that," he lies, and she laps it up, because she is Hermione, and for all of her brains she can be awfully dumb sometimes.]

"Oh, I'm sorry." She jumps off of him, still grinning. "I didn't mean to choke you."

The way she says that makes Ron melt, and he finds himself wishing that he was Harry, just for a second. He doesn't do that often, and finds it a little ironic that the thing that makes him envy his friend is as simple as a girl.

It's hard being in love with Hermione Granger.

End

So. Yeah.

FANFICTION.NET DELETED THE COW CROWS AT MIDNIGHT FOR EXPLICIT CONTENT.

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