Thank you for the reviews everyone.

For toughs of you who spotted the Name spelling mistakes I do apologise, my computer automatically changes the names as I have people in my address book with very similar names.

I will go back and change the mistakes at some point but until then they will remain.love paula-lou


As everyone sat around the table at the Burrow, Hermione had to admit she had never seen Harry look much happier than he did at this moment at time. Hermione supposed that he just took it in his stride now when his two best friends fought like this, after six years I guess you just get used to being around each other. You get to know what others are thinking by the way they act towards the people they are around almost twenty four hours a day.

Harry was talking over animatedly with Ginny, both of who were being watch with the overseeing eye of Mrs Weasley, who sat watching the two of them with a mixture of pity and intrigue.

It was the same sort of look that she saved for Ron and Hermione when she thought that neither of them were looking.

"So Harry what does it feel like to finally be free of your aunt and uncle?" asked Charlie from the end of the table.

"It feel good, it's nice to know I have somewhere I can come to thought, thanks Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley." Harry nodded in there direction.

"Don't be silly dear, you know you're as much a part of this family as Hermione is." Mrs Weasley smiled down the table at Hermione who smiled reluctantly back.

"If I came home over the summer and both of you weren't hear ,I would wonder what was going on." Charlie replied in a cheerful voice.

Ron spent the entire duration of dinner ignoring Hermione, he wouldn't even look in her direction having sat himself as far from her as he possibly could.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by Ginny who kept on casting the two of them worried looks in between laughing at Charlie's story about the man that mistook a horntail for a hat stand.

When the conversation began to wane and the plates were clean, first Charlie then Mr Weasley excused themselves to return to work for the order.

As Mrs Weasley cleaned away the plates Hermione watched as silently Ron left the table.

"You have to let him cool off, you know what he's like." said Harry shrugging.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, Hermione waved her hand dismissively and Harry filled Ginny in on all that had happened since Harry had arrived this afternoon.

"If you want to talk to him I know where he will be." she said sympathetically.

Hermione pulled her hair back, tying it in the hair band that she had wrapped around her wrist.

"He doesn't want to though does he?" she said exasperated.

"What Ron wants and what Ron needs are two completely different things," said Ginny grinning. " Ron needs a good slap around the head ,but he doesn't want it." she added as an after thought to explain herself.

"What exactly do I say to him tough?" Hermione asked wishing more than anything that Harry would take the smug know it all look off his face. Or even better leave the room.

"What do you want to say to him?"

"That's just it I don't know!"

Again Harry starts laughing.

"What is your problem today?"

"It's just nice to see a bit of drama in someone else's like for a change." he said grinning.

Ginny slapped him painfully on the arm. Hermione actually grimaced as she herd the slap on the bare skin.

"Owh." said Harry rubbing his arm.

"It's clear to see who wore the pants in your relationship." Hermione said scoffing.

"And for that I don't give you anymore help, " said Ginny getting to her feet. "come on Harry there's something about Quidditch fouls I don't understand I thought you would be able to help." she said grabbing Harry by the back of the t-shirt and dragging him towards the door.

Hermione gazed after him.

"And what am I supposed to do about Ron?"

"Hermione I think you know what you have to do, you know Ron better than most us do these days. You work it out."

Harry gave Ginny a puzzled look as she pushed him out of the door.

Hermione paced the kitchen trying to think, the Weasley's clock sat by the pile of washing in the corner, Hermione's eyes travelled the many named hands till they fell on Ron's name hovering somewhere between mortal peril and quidditch.

Hermione sighed, of curse when all else fails there was always still that stupid game.

All the time she wasted sitting around listening to Ron talk over animatedly about the last catch he made, god it was such a boring subject, well not the theory, the theory was fascinating, it was just the way that both of her best friends were so obsessed with something that she had no grasp of, something as Harry had said she couldn't learn from a book.

It wasn't as if no one knew she was hopeless at flying they all fought over who got to have Hermione on there team as it was bound to be the losing side.

But then hadn't Ron always taken her on his side?

And she had to admit that under his supervision she had gained a bit of talent on the pitch, well she could at least fly in a straight line and put the quaffle through the hoop.

Not that she totally disagreed with quiddich. It did have it's advantages, and if one of them happened to be how good Ron looked in his quid ditch robes, well then that added a whole new dimension to the game.

Actually on pondering it Hermione wasn't that apposed to quidditch that much at all.

In the time it took her to come to this startling revelation, her feet had taken her out of the Burrows front door and the back yard, ignoring the taunts from the gnome that had decided that a late evning walk to eat the geraniums was in order, and across the field to the large orchard that the Weasley's used to practice quidditch.

As Hermione had guessed Ron was standing in the middle of the orchard throwing apples at the home made post's that the twins had erected at either end of the empty clearing.

His broom lay forgotten near the upturned tree that Hermione took a seat on quietly, content in just watching Ron vent.

"Keep my temper….I'll show them….stupid Krum…git…Harry and his big gob…never been so embarrassed…" with each mutter another apple met it's untimely end ,splattered across the tree behind the middle hoop.

Hermione got up and made her way silently to his side after watching the pile of apples descend to just the one solitary apple laying next to Ron's left foot.

She picked it up and looked at it , then at the back of Ron's head.

"Did the death of all toughs helpless apples make you feel better?" she asked him.

He shrugs.

"You knew I was there?" she asks turning him around by the shoulder.

He nods.

"How, you never turned around?"

" I could smell your perfume, it's the one I bought you right?"

Hermione nodded , she was impressed .

"So are you going to talk to me yet? Or are you still being a diva?"

Ron tried his best to give her the most evil look he could manage but the sides of his mouth twitched.

"Go on Ronald try not to laugh."

"Leave me alone Hermione." he says looking away from her.

Hermione wondered if this was the right time to be noticing how cute he looked when he pulled a face like that, the smile crossed her face , she had no control over it.

"What you smiling over?"

"Nothing." she lied.

"I know you think I'm an idiot, is that what you came to tell me is it that I'm a fool?"

"Ron I don't think you're a fool, it's only natural that you were jealous of Victor."

"I'm was not, I just don't…I don't like him that's all."

Hermione raised a eyebrow.

"We'll I don't like him, I can't help it he just…."

"Makes you want to throttle him within a inch of his life? You will get over that I assure you," said Hermione thinking of the way she used to feel about Fleur, "Eventually anyway."

Ron shrugged, and using his wand summoned more apples down from the trees to use for ammo.

"Can I have a go?" Hermione asked taking the apple that Ron had just picked up and lobbing it towards the centre hoop. It went through and joined the gooey mass attached to the bark behind it.

"Nice shot." said Ron , looking at Hermione with anew found sense of pride attached to his face.

"I was pretending it was Lavender." Hermione confessed.

"Really? What made you do that?"

"Like you don't know." another apple joined the mass grave.

"No Hermione I have no idea why you don't like Lavender?" one of Ron's apples soars over the hoop and narrowly misses Pig who was perched in the nearby tree.

It doesn't go unnoticed by Hermione that this is the only apple that has been of target since she joined Ron in the orchard.

"Same reason you don't like Krum I guess, although seeing your sink plunger impression, is enough to put anyone off for life."

This time Ron's apple bounces off the hoop and narrowly misses his own head.

"That was uncalled for, that was all Lavender."

"Of course it was Won-Won…" Hermione's apple triumphantly sores through the hoop and bounces to the ground on the other side.

"Don't ever call me that." he said shivering.

"What would you prefer me to call you 'my sweetheart'." Hermione said grinning.

"I am going to kill Harry." said Ron lobbing another apple at the hoop. This one just smashes against the hoop.

"It wasn't Harry who told me, it was Ginny and anyway, it's funny." Hermione grinned.

"Ok so you came out here to make fun of me anything else you would like to throw in whilst were here? I'm sorry I'm not Krum. Just go Hermione let me die in my own humiliation in quiet please."

Hermione stood looking at him, she never felt more sorry for Ron in her life, he has to be the stupidest man alive she concluded as she picked up another apple and threw it at him.

"For your information, you're a lot more like Victor than you realise. You're both good at quidditch, don't pull that face you are, you're both shy, you both don't know how adorable you really are, and you both kiss like the giant squid."

Ron stared blankly at her. Before throwing the apple so hard it rebounded of the tree and flew towards Hermione.

Ron pulled her out of the way just in time, the apple splattered a meter behind where Hermione had been standing seconds before.

The two of them stood staring at the shattered apple.

Ron's grip never leaving Hermione's shoulder where he had grabbed her to pull.

Eventually they looked at each other.

"So you did snog Krum, I was hoping that Ginny was just winding me up." he said quietly.

"If you thought Ginny was winding you up, why did you then go on to snog lavender in front of me, what did it achieve? " Hermione said looking away.

"It made me feel better for a little bit."

"Ron , you now you always have to blow everything out of proportion, did you think I would never get a boyfriend? Did you not realise that I have to have a life?"

"But why did it have to be Krum?" he asked his eyes scanning hers.

"Krum wasn't my boyfriend, yes he kissed me, but just the once, at the Yule ball, you know the one that you should have asked me to but were to busy chasing after your brothers future wife?"

Ron's face went a dark crimson.

" That was different she's part villa…"

"Doesn't distract from the fact I was the last person that you thought off." Hermione said bitterly.

"You wouldn't have gone with me anyway." Ron said dejected.

"I would have actually, I was expecting you to ask me, but well Victor got there first."

"Don't remind me.."

"And don't get me started on Slughorn's stupid party…."

Ron's face faltered from it's fixed scowl.. "What happened ?"

"McLaggen , that's what happened, what a slimy git, talk about pushy if I wanted to kiss pond scum I would have snogged Malfoy."

Ron groaned.

"Hey it's not my fault, It's yours."

Ron dropped is grip on her.

"How do you figure that?"

"Well, " said Hermione as she walked back past the mutilated corps of the last apple, "The way I see it , it should have been you at that party, I did ask you, but what can I say , you chose to snog lavender instead, who knows what would have happened hu?" Hermione smiled to herself as she saw the look that crossed Ron's face, the look of comprehension in what she had just said.

"Hermione wait." he said racing up to her side.

"Yes Ron?" she asked innocently.

"Do you like me?" it was barely a whisper.

"I dunno Ron, that may depend on how many people have been casting evil canaries after you lately?"

Hermione sped up and looked back over her shoulder, right now she new the ball was in Ron's court, he wasn't as stupid as he liked to make out she knew that for a fact.

She could see the confused but happy look on his face, but how long would it stay there with the soon arrival of Krum?

She had to admit the fact that she felt the best she had in a long time.

She only hopped that Ron's kissing technique had improved since the last time she witnessed the over the top floor show.