The week passed by rather quickly. Before Ron knew it, Saturday came again. The week had gone by rather uneventfully, the only thing stressing Ron out were the countless homework assignments from various teachers. Sometimes, jealousy did overtake him, but Ron soon realized that he could calm himself down by spending a little time by himself. That way, further spats could be avoided.

This Saturday though, was a different story. Harry and Hermione were acting more obnoxiously in love than ever, and it made Ron feel like throwing up. It was after breakfast, and the three were sitting in the common room together, when Ron couldn't take anymore of it. He stood up abruptly from his chair, and headed upstairs and into the boy's dormitory. Harry and Hermione didn't notice; they were too busy kissing to realize their best friend had left the room.

Ron paced back and forth in the empty dormitory, grumbling under his breath. He needed to go somewhere else, somewhere that wasn't the Gryffindor Tower. Ron looked around the dorm, noticing that Harry's trunk was left slightly ajar. A corner of his Invisibility Cloak was sticking out. Slowly, Ron lifted the lid of the trunk and picked up the Invisibility Cloak. Perfect, he thought to himself. He put the cloak on, opened the door, and descended down the staircase. Now all he needed to do was get through the common room door. But surely people would notice if the door opened up all on its own. The only ones who wouldn't be startled would be Harry and Hermione, but then they'd know that it was Ron under the cloak. And Ron didn't want them knowing he had disappeared, because then they'd want him back. And he needed to be on his own for awhile.

Lucky for Ron, the common room door opened just then as Fred and George stepped inside. Quickly, Ron dashed for the door, and slipped past it just as it shut quietly behind him. Sighing in relief, Ron headed down the hall, making sure he was completely covered by the cloak. So far, the halls were empty. Ron took a left and headed in the direction of the library. His mind was already clearing, and he was calming down. This was good for him.

As Ron rounded the corner, he could hear loud footsteps and voices ahead of him. Forgetting he was under the Invisibility Cloak, and that no one would be able to see him, Ron ducked behind a suit of armor in the corner of the hallway. He peeked around the metal leg to see who was coming.

It was Lavender and Parvati. Lavender looked rather downcast, and Parvati had her face set in a sympathetic expression. They stopped in front of the suit of armor Ron was hiding behind, and he could distinctly hear what they were saying to one another.

" I really fancy him, Parvati," Lavender said, her voice shaking slightly. " And he just blew me off like that! It's so obvious he doesn't like me back." " You don't know that," Parvati reassured her friend. " Harry and Hermione didn't even give him a chance to speak much. It's their fault."

" Stupid Granger," Lavender growled. Suddenly she looked at her friend in alarm. " You don't think. her and Ron.."

" Oh, no, no, no!" Parvati exclaimed. " Ron's not the one taken. It's Harry who is Hermione's boyfriend. Too bad too," she added, sounding rather wistful.

Lavender studied her friend closely. " Then WHY doesn't he like me? Am I that. unlikable?" she asked, tearfully.

" Yes," Ron mouthed to himself.

Parvati shook her head energetically. " 'Course not, Lavender. Any guy in their right mind would like you," she added sweetly. She leaned closer to Lavender, dropping her voice to a whisper, and Ron had to strain his ears to hear what she was saying. " You know. I'm guessing, that the problem isn't you. it's Ron."

Me?!, Ron asked himself. What would be wrong with me?

Lavender voiced what Ron was thinking. " What in the world is wrong with Ron?" she asked incrediously. " He's . " she sighed," perfect."

Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust. He didn't want Lavender thinking he was perfect! That was just disgusting. I'd rather Hermione think I was perfect.. he thought, dreamily. Ron shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the thought, as Parvati spoke up.

" Lavender!" she exclaimed. She dropped her voice then, looking around as if someone was standing behind them, listening. " I think Ron's .. gay."

Ron was so mad and so shocked that he almost jumped up from behind the suit of armor, but quickly controlled himself. Instead of popping up and strangling Parvati for voicing such a thought, Ron settled for breathing in and out deeply.

Lavender raised an eyebrow, looking at her friend skeptically. " Gay?"

" Yeah, you know . " Parvati pressed. " Gay. As in he doesn't like girls, as in he's a fag - "

" I know what gay means!" Lavender cried. " I just don't believe you, that's all." " Think about it. He's always with Harry and Hermione, right? And I always figured Harry could swing to the gay side, and he and Ron would be gay together - "

At this, Ron's jaw clenched, and he could feel his face grow hot. How dare Parvati think such a disgusting thing.

" But Harry and Hermione are so in love, there's no way Harry could be gay. I didn't really think he could be anyway, it was just a thought. But Ron.. Ron hasn't had a girlfriend yet, has he? And he doesn't hang around a lot of girls, besides Hermione, who's taken, and Ginny, who's his sister. He doesn't hang out with other girls," Parvati continued.

Lavender opened her mouth to argue, but Parvati held up a hand, and Lavender promptly shut her mouth. " He's with an awful lot of guys though, isn't he? Seamus, Dean, Neville, Harry.... he doesn't seem very interested in the girls."

" Maybe they don't show any interest in him!" Lavender suggested.

Parvati shook her head. " Do you remember last year? At the Yule Ball? My sister Padma was awfully smitten with him. but he ignored her. And you know who he paid more attention to?"

" Who?" Lavender asked curiously.

" Harry."

Behind the suit of armor, Ron was shaking in silent anger. His fingers clenched tightly around the Invisibility Cloak, forcing himself not to lunge at Parvati and shake an apology out of her. What a bitch! Why the hell would she think he was gay? He liked girls as much as the next guy..

Lavender was silent. " I suppose you're right."

" Of course I am."

" So Ron's gay, huh?" she asked with a giggle, as the two girls continued their way down the hall.