A/N: The eighth chapter. Should be good, it has a nice mix of sadness, romance, and hilarity, and action. That's right, action.

I ignored the facts of the Quidditch match. I wrote it my own way. If you don't like it, pull out the sixth book and read that instead of this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own Harry Potter…

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It was a Saturday, the weekend, our escape from the learning and work that takes place on weekdays. It also happened to be the day of Ron's birthday. He and Harry were probably awake now, unwrapping presents and staring in awe at his gifts. He probably had loads of presents from everyone, everyone but me that is. And that was why I was sitting in the in the Great Hall miserable.

I had no clue what to do. I felt so guilty for pretending to be mad at him on his birthday. It was so, cruel. So unlike me. I sighed into my porridge. Maybe I should make it up to him. I could get him a present at Hogsmeade. Wait, no, the trip was cancelled. I could transfigure a stick into a nice backscratcher, but that's an odd thing to give someone. Or, maybe, I can start talking to him again. Yeah, that could work. It'd be a nice gesture and we'd both be relieved.

I stood up from the bench. I was going to go to the common room and wish Ron a Happy Birthday! But just as I reached the entrance of the Great Hall, Ginny and Professor McGonagall came rushing past. Professor McGonagall noticed me and stopped.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Lucky that I have run into you. Come along, we better get going." She said.

I gave her a curious look but she had begun to walk briskly down the halls. I followed along, trying to keep up with her. I gave Ginny a questioning look but she just shrugged at me. Finally, she stopped in front of the hospital wing. I looked around and spotted Harry. He was looking at the closed doors of the hospital wing with a worried expression on his face. Ginny gulped beside me, and I knew why. Ron wasn't with him.

Professor McGonagall turned to Ginny and I and said "Mr. Weasley was unlucky enough to have consumed a poisonous potion. He is perfectly alright, thanks to Mr. Potter here," she nodded in Harry's direction before continuing "he is unconscious but will live. Such a shame that this should happen on birthday of all days." She shook her head before turning away to talk with Madam Pomfrey.

I looked at Harry, shocked. Ginny ran to him and began bombarding him with questions. At first, I was quiet, and then I went up to him and started asking him exactly what happened.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded.

Harry sighed and launched into a full on discussion on the events of Ron's birthday. I listened and nodded, quiet and nervous, although Ginny would interrupt and chat to Harry about him.

Finally, at eight o'clock, Madam Pomfrey let us in.

"Come in. He's alright. The parents have seen him, so you have a few moments with him." She said, ushering us in.

When we went in, we expected the worse. He was pale, cold, and still. His chest was rising and falling, meaning that he was still breathing. I sat at the foot of his bed and looked at him. This was not how he pictured his birthday.

Ten minutes later Fred and George arrived. They greeted me but I just nodded. I was still looking at Ron, looking for any sign of movement. But all he did was mumble.

Then, in the middle of a talk on who could possibly wish to do this to Ron, he opened his mouth and spoke three syllables "Er-my-nee." Then he slumped back into deep sleep. I blushed at what he said. Why would he want to say my name? Was he dreaming? Was he thinking about me? I felt myself blushing furiously at the thought. From the corner of my eye I saw Harry smirking at me. Next to him Ginny was smiling at me. I glared at them but could feel my heart soaring.

Pretty soon we had to leave so Ron could be alone with his family (I don't get that, he's asleep after all). But as I was leaving, Fred and George jogged to catch up with me.

"Hey Hermione," Fred called

"Wait up!" George said

I stopped and turned to face the twins.

"We heard,"

"From Ginny that,"

"You're having,"

"Some boy problems,"

"About Ronald." They chorused.

I stared at them then put my hands to my hips. "Whatever Ginny told you is a lie." I said.

"Ah, but we don't think so." Fred said, wagging a finger at me.

"And judging by the shade of pink you went when he said your name, we believe that Ginny is right." George said, looking confident.

I frowned. "Okay, so maybe it is true, but what's it to you? Are you going to blackmail me for life?" I asked.

The twins shook their heads. "No, not at all."

"We may blackmail Ron though,"

"But that's not the point."

"What is the point then?" I asked, getting tired of how they finish each other's sentences.

"The point is,"

"That we want to help you."

"Help me?" I repeated. Were these really the twins trying to help me and Ron?

"Don't look so surprised."

"It insults us." They said in mock hurt tones.

Fred dug into his pockets and pulled out a couple of Puking Pastilles and Nosebleed Nougats. George pulled out a decoy detonator and a strange square object from his own pockets.

"Take these, they may help you." George said.

"Yeah, make Lavender bleed and confuse her with the decoy detonator so you can run." Fred said.

"And this little thing here," George pointed to the square object "will release a ton of smoke. You can use it so that Lavender won't see you and you can sneak Ron away to, well…"

"We don't want to discuss what our little brother may do when it comes to romance." Fred finished.

I looked at all the objects in my hands. They could actually help me out, not that I was going to use them. I was after all a prefect.

"Thanks for your help. I don't think I'll use any though." I replied, turning the decoy detonator over in my hand.

"George and I think differently." Fred winked.

"We must get going Forge." George said.

"Right, I'm coming Gred." Fred replied. They turned to me, bowed, and then went back to Ron's table.

I looked at them for a moment, and then left the hospital wing.

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The roar of the crowd was ear blasting, as was always during a Quidditch match. I was fighting my way to get a seat in the stands, since I have arrived a tad too late.

"Hermione!" Ginny called to me. She was waving her hand madly in the air from next to the change rooms.

"Hey Ginny." I greeted her.

"Want to step over here and chat for a minute?" she asked.

"Well, actually," I began

"Great! Come along." Said Ginny, not bothering to wait for an answer. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with her, stopping at the edge of the pitch.

"What is it you wanted to say?" I asked her.

Ginny gave me a toothy grin "About what happened at the hospital wing." She replied.

I groaned. I was wondering when this would come up. "You mean Ron nearly dying? Yeah, terrible shock, glad he lived through it. Well, got to go." I recited hastily. I turned to leave when Ginny caught my arm.

"I mean what he said." Ginny said, keeping a firm hold on my arm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I lied.

"Oh, yes you do. Does this sound familiar? 'Er-my-nee…'" she did a very good impression of Ron when he was barely awake.

"So? What about it?" I asked, trying to keep calm.

"Oh come on Hermione, he said your name!" Ginny squealed excitedly. "He said it while he was asleep! He was dreaming of you! You were his angel in his dream, protecting him from harm," said Ginny, a dreamy look in her eyes.

I groaned again. I knew Ginny would make a big deal out of this. "Maybe he was dreaming that I was sending more birds at him. Or, maybe I kicked him or turned him into a spider." I paused at that last few words. That really wasn't a bad idea…

"Then he was asking for forgiveness from you, wanting to tell you his undying love." Ginny said in a final voice.

"Ginny, I think you should go back to the change rooms. You don't want to be late and I need to find a seat." I said, trying to shake her off me.

"Very well. But seriously Hermione, you're getting closer to your goal! Pretty soon Ron will be eating out of the palm of your hands, while you two are feeding each other in the Great Hall." Ginny gave me a wink, and then went away to the change rooms, skipping every other step.

I once again made my way to the stands, finally sitting myself down next to Neville.

"Hey Hermione! Too bad Ron couldn't play, eh? What happened anyway?" Round faced Neville asked.

"He'll tell you if you visit him." I answered, not wanting to tell him. Everyone's been asking me, when truth is Harry is the one who knows all about it.

"Okay. Oh look, they're starting!" Neville pointed to the pitch, where the players had just risen up into the air.

"GO GRYFFINDOR!!!!!" I screamed, along with the other Gryffindor supporters.

"BEAT THEM GRYFFINDOR! BEAT THEM FOR MY WON-WON!" came the voice I had grown to hate. Lavender Brown was sitting in front of me, waving a sign madly, causing several people to duck whenever it went near them. "THINK OF POOR RON IN THE HOSPITAL WING, WIN FOR HIM! WIN FOR MY BOYFRIEND!" oh how I wanted to strangle her at that very moment.

"Lavender, will you be quiet!" Parvati pleaded beside Lavender "You don't have to tell the whole school that!"

"Oh, but I do. I want everyone to know about Ron and I and how he couldn't be here. WIN FOR RON! WIN FOR RON! I LOVE RON WEASLEY!!!" she screeched as Parvati sunk lower into her seat. She waved the sign more enthusiastically, and when the front flashed in front of me I felt my blood boil.

"RON WEASLEY, KEEPER TO MY HEART!" the sign read. It was sickening, disgustingly romantic, and annoyingly clever. It didn't even have much to do with Quidditch! And I bet that she only made that sign to annoy me, not to 'proclaim her love'. If only their was some other way to control her other than to use the unforgivable curse, I'd make her bash her head against the wall...no matter, I could always use my hands for that…

"Hermione, what are you doing?" asked Neville timidly. I was brought back to earth from my (violent) thoughts, and looked down at myself. I was half-standing, half-sitting, my hands were in front of me, ready to grab Lavender and pummel her into bits.

"Um, I was, cheering!" I thought quickly. "Yay Gryffindor!" I said, waving my arms.

"But the other team scored." Neville said.

"Well, our team needs more cheering to get us to win." I answered back.

I sat back down, Neville looking at me curiously as I did. He looked forwards and saw Lavender's sign. He didn't do anything, deep in thought, and then he blurt out

"Ooohh, I get it! It's because of that sign!" Neville said.

"Did Ginny tell you?" I asked angrily. How many people did Ginny tell?

"Um, no, I was just guessing. But, er, I guess that I was right for once. If only that happened more often…" Neville rambled. The blood rushed to my face.

"Tell NO ONE." I said in a firm voice.

"No one, gotcha." Neville said, looking frightened of me.

We continued to watch the game, ignoring Lavender's shrieks and cheers for Ron. When I started getting cheery again, Cormac did the stupidest thing in the world, causing a terrible accident.

"Harry!" I yelled when he fell to the ground.

"Oh-no, not good, not good," Neville stuttered next to me "He's not gonna be happy with McLaggen."

A number of people rushed towards the pitch, trying to see what had happened to Harry. I had to push and shove my way to where Harry was, and when I passed Lavender, I couldn't resist giving her an extra push.

"What was that for Granger?" Lavender asked after I had reached the pitch to see Harry. I was only a step away from him when she tugged roughly on my arm.

"I was trying to get to my friend." I answered back.

"I fell on the ground! Hard!" she shrieked, stamping her foot on the grass.

"I wanted to get to my friend!" I yelled at her.

"If you care so much about him, why don't you two go out?" she yelled right back.

"I love him like a brother!"

"Oh right, because you really love my Won-Won!"

I put up my hands in exasperation. "What does that have to do with me pushing you?"

"You pushed me because you're jealous that Ron chose me and not you!" she pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Chose you?" I pulled my arm away from her grasp.

"Yeah, because he agreed to be my boyfriend!"

"Everyone makes mistakes."

"Are you saying that I'm a mistake?"

"I didn't say that, you did."

"Oh, why… you…how… ARGH!" she yelled in rage.

"Is that all you can say?" I said, smirking.

"I'm going to go see Ron!"

"Really? From what I hear he's always asleep when you visit."

"And he's awake when you are?" she questioned.

"Well, I haven't been talking to a wall." I replied.

"That's it! Get out of the way, I'm going to see Ron!" she made a move trying to get past me.

I stayed rooted to the spot. She was not going near Ron. I was going to visit him.

"Move!" she screamed at me.

"No."

"I said MOVE!"

"Fine, I'll visit him too!"

"No you won't!"

"Why's that?"

"Because I say so!"

"He's my friend; I can visit him when I want to!"

"He's my boyfriend; I can visit him more than you!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really. Now if you don't move I'll make you!"

I stood my ground. "I'd like to see you try."

Lavender gave me a violent push and I fell to the ground. Oh, that was the last straw. I grabbed her ankles and tugged her down with me. The people around us jumped back, stunned at our behavior. She fell with a shriek, rounded on me, and the battle began.

She pulled hard on my hair, ripping a few strands out. I slapped her face and she bit my arm. I tugged down hard on her sleeve which tore at the seams. She in turn kicked my shins and we rolled around on the grass, slapping faces and arms, pulling out hair, and so on. We weren't aware that the entire school (minus Ron) and staff of Hogwarts were looking at us.

The fight lasted about a minute before anyone decided to take action. Dean grabbed my arms and Seamus grabbed Lavender's, pulling us up and away from each other. I aimed a kick at her but was blocked by Neville, who took it to the shins.

"ENOUGH!" boomed McGonagall. Everyone turned to her. Lavender and I stopped struggling, suddenly coming to realize that the entire student body and staff were watching our wrestling match in the middle of the Quidditch field.

"I would've expected more from two Gryffindors, especially you Miss Granger! And over a boy! Mr. Potter is hurt and you decide to fight! 50 points from Gryffindor and detention!" she bellowed.

Dean and Seamus let us go and I stumbled to the ground. What have I done! I promised myself that I wouldn't fight, and then, oh my God! What would people think about this? I'm the bookworm, not the fighting-over-a-guy girl! Oh no, Ron! If he ever finds out about this, dear Merlin! I can't imagine!

Professor McGonagall gave Lavender and I a stern look, then turned her attention to Harry, who lay sprawled on the ground, clearly unconscious. My guilt grew, knowing that I had forgotten all about him during my yell-fest.

"Well Granger, I'll be seeing you." Lavender said in a polite voice.

"And I you." I replied. We both knew that this was an act we couldn't afford more points taken.

She walked over to Lavender while Ginny, Neville, Dean and Seamus came to me.

"I've never seen you fight like that, Hermione!" Seamus exclaimed.

"Yeah, and you can really dish it out!" Dean added.

"And kick hard," said Neville, rubbing where I accidentally hit him in the shins.

"Sorry about that Neville." I said.

"That was fantastic!" Ginny exclaimed "And there I was thinking that you'd never do that! You know what you should've done? Eat the nosebleed nougat, which would've gotten Lavender into more trouble! You think you can still pull that off?"

"Nah, everyone saw me, and I'm okay." I replied.

"Except for the teeth marks on your arm, your messy hair, and scratches here and there." Dean said.

"What was with you two being all nice and polite in the end?" Seamus asked.

"Trying to get out of more trouble." I replied, examining my body for scratches. There were a few on my arms, but they weren't deep.

"Yeah, it's not like you'd really be seeing her later." Ginny laughed.

I sighed. "But I will. We share a dormitory."

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A/N: I'll leave it at that. It's a bit long. I wonder why I don't write short chapters like normal people.

Sorry for the wait. Got a bit of writer's block.

Now, hit the button on the bottom left and review!

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