A/N: Well I got a few requests for another chapter to this fic. I believe the exact words were 'please write another chapter and make this stupid girl disappear'. So here is another HBP missing moment.

Disclaimer: I can only dream that one day I will have JK Rowling's talent. However, today is not that day.

Anything written by the lovely Jo Rowling is in Bold.

Chapter Two: The Occasional Craving

"What were you doing up there with her?" shrieked Lavender.

"Lavender! Uh…well…um…you see we, uh…." Ron spluttered. He looked over his shoulder at Hermione and then back at Lavender with wide eyes.

"Won-Won!" She was clearly upset at seeing them exit the boys' dormitories alone.

'If she only knew that Harry is standing right in front of her,' thought Hermione, sardonically.

She stepped around Ron and past Lavender -making sure she bumped shoulders with the latter- and quickly made her way into the common room. She didn't want to watch Ron, once again, neglect to break it off with Lavender. It was pathetic really; he was almost frightened of her.

She saw Ginny entering through the portrait hole and thought she could wait for Ron with her.

"Don't push me, please, Dean," she said sounding annoyed. "You're always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own..."

On second thought, perhaps it was best to leave Ginny alone as well. Hermione wondered if Harry was still around. He'd be happy to hear, what appeared to be, Ginny trying to chuck Dean.

She sat down on a sofa next to a sleeping Crookshanks, who woke up long enough to curl up in her lap and fall asleep again.

She smiled softly and absently began to stroke his fur while she closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the sofa. She herself was happy that Ginny was finally going to ditch Dean. Sure she had been the one to tell Ginny to date other people, but now she knew that Harry fancied Ginny as well. She really hoped those two would get their act together soon.

As for Ron, well, unfortunately he didn't seem to be able to get rid of Lavender quite as easily. He kept saying he was waiting for things to fall apart, but that didn't seem to be working. She wasn't about to complain though. Two months ago she wasn't even on speaking terms with Ron. At least now she could spend some real time with him.

Since her and Ron's reconciliation after his poisoning in March, her addiction had dwindled down to an occasional craving. Once she saw him again everyday, and could actually talk and sit with him, she'd decided to go "cold turkey" on the whole Daydream Charm thing.

She'd locked her remaining charms in her trunk, underneath her dress robes and didn't touch them for two weeks. Then Ron had started to refuse to break up with Lavender. She didn't understand why it was so hard for him to go up to her and say 'Listen I don't think we should see each other anymore.' But he just couldn't seem to get that through his thick head.

She wondered if maybe he didn't want to break up with her at all. And that thought was just too depressing for Hermione to think about. So she'd gone up to her room one night and taken out a charm.

She only used them every few weeks, but lately that number had been increasing ever so slowly. If Ron didn't get rid of Lavender soon, Hermione feared that she would need to owl Fred and George again.

Hermione sighed softly as she brought her legs up under herself, while attempting to keep Crookshanks from digging his claws into her legs. She resumed her stroking and he, once again, fell into a peaceful slumber.

She was reminded of one of her daydreams from a few weeks back, and how Crookshanks had been sleeping in her lap at the time. In the daydream she and Ron had been sitting under the old beech tree down by the lake. His head had been resting in her lap and she was running her fingers through his ginger hair. It had been very peaceful until the charm had started to wear off. That's when Ron had leapt off her, arched his back, licked his fist and ran it over his nose. She had been very confused until she'd been pulled back into her four-poster and seen a ginger, bottle-brush tail pass through her curtains. Ever since then she'd made sure that Crookshanks was nowhere near her when she was using a charm.

She felt herself drifting off, when the cushion shifted under her. Her head snapped up, and she was face to face with Ron. He was scratching Crookshanks behind the ears and had a sheepish look on his face.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Did I wake you?"

She shook her head and sat up a little straighter. "No," she said as Crookshanks woke up and gave her a scornful look for shifting positions again, "-sorry Crooky- no, I was just resting my eyes."

"Oh, alright," Ron said as he gave Crookshanks a couple pats on the head and slouched into the sofa even further. He leaned his head back and watched the fireplace sullenly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Hmm," Ron muttered, turning his head towards her. "Oh, well nothing's really wrong. I just never thought I'd find a new rowing partner, but Lavender was really giving you a run for your money there."

Hermione looked down at her fingers, where they were entangled in Crookshanks' fur. In a quiet voice she asked, "So you two had a fight then?" She silently wondered if they'd also made up already in their own special way.

"Wow, you must have really been out of it. She's been screaming for the last bloody half hour." He smiled slightly and sat up a little becoming smug. "She kept accusing u-us of doing s-something in my dorm. I told her we weren't doing anything but she said if I kept lying to her she would chuck me. I really didn't want her to though--"

"Oh," Hermione interrupted softly. 'I knew he didn't really want to break up with her,' she added silently.

"Yeah, I mean we hadn't done anything and I've wanted out of this relationship for weeks. So if anyone should have been doing any ditching, it should have been me. But she wouldn't listen. I really don't care, I guess, I mean at least it's over."

Hermione's head snapped up and she couldn't stop the grin tugging at her lips. "Really?"

"Yup," he said a broad grin on his own face. "I can see you're happy about it too."

She shook her head, her grin widening and said, "Well she really was getting annoying Ron. Especially in the dorms." She added quietly. "Congratulations though, even if you are a coward for not doing it yourself."

"Thanks, I think," he chuckled.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Hermione doing a small victory dance in her head and Ron starting to scratch Crookshanks behind the ears again.

She tried to stifle a yawn, in vain, as she was hit by a wave of her earlier exhaustion.

"You must be tired," Ron stated as he looked around at the nearly empty common room. "It's late, why don't you go up to bed?"

Hermione shook her head as she gave another yawn. "That's okay. I don't much fancy sleeping in the same room as Lavender if she's that upset. Especially if she thinks I have anything to do with you two breaking up."

"Oh, sorry about that," Ron said sheepishly.

"It's not your fault Ron," she offered through yet another yawn. "Are you going to stay down much longer?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd try to wait for Harry; if he doesn't get in too late."

"Oh good, I hope he knows what he's doing, going to Hagrid's instead of after Professor Slughorn." Her eyes were falling shut and her head felt heavy.

"I'm sure he does Hermione. After all, he has Felix on his side doesn't he?"

"Hmm, oh yeah…sure." She really was very tired.

"I really think you should go to bed Hermione." Ron put a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him through her drooping eyelids. "I really don't want to Ron. But, since you're already staying down here, would you mind waking me up when you think she'd be asleep?"

Ron nodded his head with a lop-sided grin, and turned to the fire again.

Hermione turned her head in the other direction and closed her eyes. She wasn't in the most comfortable position, especially with Crookshanks sprawled across her, but she didn't want to risk falling onto Ron and having him be uncomfortable—or worse, disgusted.

"Um—ahem—here, that can't be comfortable," Ron muttered a few minutes later. "Off Crookshanks," he whispered, and she felt her cat leap off her legs leaving them feeling much lighter.

Then she felt Ron pull her so she was lying down with her head on a pillow, which he'd placed on his lap. A light blanket was placed over her as well as she curled her knees slightly and brought her hands up under her head.

"Better?" he asked, his voice slightly higher than normal.

"Mmhmm, 'night Ron," she mumbled into the pillow as her mind started to cloud over.

"Goodnight Hermione."

She felt the dream world pulling her in, but for once she found she'd rather stay in reality.

A/N: I have an idea for a third part to this story, but I'll only post it on request, so if you'd like to read it, please review. Cheers!