Cheating

"Pssssst"

Hermione heard Ron trying to get her attention as soon as Mrs. Burbage, their Muggle studies teacher, turned her back.

"Psssst, 'Mione!" Ron tried again, a bit louder this time.

Hermione knew that Ron had not studied for this exam, so she refused to help him. He doesn't deserve her help. He should have studied for the test like the rest of the students, and he shouldn't rely on her to help him all the time. Hermione was sick of Harry and Ron slacking off in their school work and leaving her to do all the work.

'Not this time' Hermione thought to herself.

"Oh come on, please! It's just this one question!"

Just as Hermione turned her head to glare at him, Mrs. Burbage turned to face them. The professor gave them a threatening look, and they both lowered their heads to the parchment on their desks before Mrs. Burbage marched back to the end of the classroom.

From the corner of her eye, Hermione could see Ron staring at her with his big brown puppy dog eyes. She tried to distract herself with the questions of the exam, but she failed. She had always had a weak spot for the red-headed boy's gloomy puppy dog pleas.

Hermione sighed heavily as she turned to face him once again. Sensing her defeat, Ron wore a huge victory grin on his face.

"What is it?" She whispered, clearly annoyed by his suddenly happy demeanor.

"Just one thing, is Sweden located in Europe?" He quickly asked her, before she could change her mind about helping him.

She rolled her eyes, "No, it got relocated to Africa," she replied sarcastically.

"Really!?" He said with a surprised expression spreading across his freckled features.

"Yes Ron, really," she rolled her eyes at him again.

She smirked to herself as she focused on her exam. That was his question? He couldn't really be that daft? He had to realize she was kidding, right? She glanced over to Ron, who was smiling to himself as he finished his exam and rested his quill on the desk. She peered over to his side and took a look at his exam.

Sweden lies on the continent of?

Africa.

'He wrote down Africa?! Seriously? Mrs. Burbage obviously added this question at the end of the exam just to raise her students' grades. Obviously not Ron's, though.' Hermione resisted the urge to face palm herself. She was just about to tell Ron about his ridiculous mistake when Mrs. Burbage made it back to their end of the classroom.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stop glancing at each other during this exam Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger," the professor quietly reproached them.

"Sorry professor," Hermione mumbled as she lowered her eyes back to her parchment.

"That's fine Mrs. Burbage. I've already finished my exam." Ron smugly grinned at the professor, who was baffled. Ron was always the last of her students to hand in his paper, and he usually did so with a look of exhaustion and defeat, not the confident look he was wearing right now.

Ron glanced at Hermione and gave a discreet wink in the direction of the bushy haired girl who was shaking her head at him with wide eyes as he handed in his exam to the shocked professor standing in front of them.

"Very well, you may leave the classroom Mr. Weasely." The professor replied quietly, her features slowly calming again as Ron left the room. The professor's confused look wore away as she started walking back towards the back of the classroom.

Hermione couldn't help but shake her head and laugh at the odd situation as she resumed her test.

"Hermione Granger, excellent as always, Outstanding," Mrs. Burbage exclaimed before announcing the rest of her students' grades.

"Seamus Finnegan I know you can do better than this, Acceptable. Ms. Brown Exceeded expectations, well done!"

Then the professor scowled at Ron. "Ronald Bilius Weasely this might as well be one of the stupidest answers I've seen in all my years of teaching." Ron just looked at her with genuine shock; he was confident he did well in that exam.

"You received a D for Dreadful! Merlin knows what possessed you to write that Sweden is located in Africa!" The professor sighed loudly. "You're all dismissed."

Ron turned to his right to find a red-faced laughing Hermione.

'She's laughing?! She did this on purpose? How could she do this to me?'

Ron cleared his throat to get her attention.

"And what do you have to say for yourself?" Ron questioned with a growl.

Hermione tried to calm herself but was unsuccessful. "It's not my fault you didn't study. It also isn't my fault you don't understand sarcasm."

Ron's features calmed, but then twisted into confusion. "So… Sweden is in Europe, right?" He asked cautiously.

Hermione just couldn't resist. At the sight of his confused expression she felt her heart flutter. She stopped laughing, and instead a small smile lit her face. Before she could over think her actions she leaned in and planted a small kiss on his lips.

She leaned back to see Ron with a huge grin on his face.

"I guess that means I'm right," he stated with a slight smirk as he leaned back in.