Author's Note: Holy Toledo! Is the plot actually moving forward? GASP!

Enjoy!

Harry didn't like this one bit. Ron had come back to the dorm yesterday afternoon with a look on his face that would have turned Medusa to stone. He had gone to dinner with them and everything, but hadn't said a word. Not even Ginny could get him to talk about what was on his mind. By Saturday morning, the icy expression had turned into a look of downright rage, and Ron, in true Ron fashion, was snapping at everyone and everything in sight. Harry tried to get away from him, but he just couldn't shake him. Ron was taking his babysitting responsibilities seriously, even if he was being a prat the ENTIRE time.

Thanks to his companion's silence, Harry was able to give a good amount of thought to what, exactly, was causing his best friend to be in such a lovely mood. Harry couldn't move past the obvious: Hermione. But what specifically about Hermione was troubling him this time?

He had noticed that she wasn't at dinner. He also remembered Neville commenting on the fact that Malfoy wasn't sitting at the Slytherin table either. At the time, Harry looked immediately at Ron to see his reaction. He hadn't had one. Obviously, he wasn't surprised with the absence. Then Seamus made some sort of lewd allusion about why the two of them were together all the time and Neville, Harry, Dean, and Ginny worked fast to distract Ron before he tore Seamus' head off his shoulders.

Ok, so Hermione and Draco were most likely together, and it wasn't where any of them could keep track of them, and Ron seemed to know this. Ron's temper grew steadily worse as the night and morning continued.

Harry didn't like this one bit. He was going to have to bring it up; the subject he had avoided like the plague since third year. But, there are many different kinds of self-preservation. And he didn't think he could take this anymore.

Harry was going to ask Ron about his feelings for Hermione.

Oh, God help them all.

Now, how to go about it? He found Ron alone in the dorm late in the morning. He had gone looking for him on the premise of getting the group together to go to lunch. Ron was torturing some of his shirts by throwing them either from his trunk to the floor or vice versa.

"Hey," he said cautiously, entering the room and placing an imperturbable around the door. Somehow, he didn't think that he wanted anyone to wander in OR hear what they were going to say.

"Hey," Ron responded without looking up. Harry walked over and sat on his bed.

"Ron, I think we need to talk."

Well, that stopped him. He turned and looked at Harry, shirt still in hand. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Talk about what?" Oh, God, this was SO much harder than he thought it would be.

"We need to talk about what's bothering you."

"There's nothing bothering me."

"Right, that's why this place looks like the laundry room exploded and you made a second year cry this morning when you snapped at her about some jam." At least he looked contrite.

"I made somebody cry?" he was shocked. Was Ron still even on the same planet as everyone else?

"It was right after we noticed that Malfoy and Hermione were missing from the Great Hall again."

"Oh," the angry face was back. Harry hurried on.

"So, I guess we pretty much know what's bothering you." He let that hang. Ron just stared at him.

"Not really, Harry, why don't you spell it out for me?" Ron sure did know how to push Harry's buttons with his tone. A brilliant strategy actually. Harry had to work to keep his temper under control and stay focused.

"Well, fine then, if you are going to be such a big baby about it," apparently not all the temper was squelched, "you fancy Hermione, duh, and now that some other bloke is paying attention to her, you look ready to kill something."

"This isn't just 'some other bloke,' Harry. This is Draco sodding Malfoy!"

"Who it is is beside the point! This is worse then Viktor for you. Viktor is off in Bulgaria and never really poses any threat since he's never here. But Malfoy's here, all the time! They share a dorm, for Christ's sake! He sees her much more that we do, probably much more than we ever did."

"So why are you bringing this up? Other than to start up a lot of trouble, I can't think of a reason. Do you want me to go and beat up Malfoy? Will that make you happy? Hmm? Have the sidekick take care of the annoyances for you because you're so busy worrying about the real troublemakers, is that it?"

"Stop being stupid on purpose. This is about you! You're behavior is really starting to piss me off. Nobody wants to deal with you this way, not me, not Ginny, and certainly not her. Look, if you fancy the girl, be a man and ask her out already. Otherwise, get the hell over yourself!"

"You don't even know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, don't I?" Harry circled him like a hunter closing in on its quarry, "I've been watching the two of you for seven years, Ron! I know that there is something going on with the two of you. Everyone does! There's a goddamn betting pool on when the two of you are going to wise up and realize what's there. My date's come and gone since I thought you had bigger balls than you obviously do."

"You're a fine one to talk. I don't see you with a girl friend."

"We're not going through this again. I fancy Ginny, a lot. But I love her alive. Stop being such a wanker with this deflection shit. You're the one always complaining about not getting any attention. Now here it is and you are running away from it. Stop being such a eunuch and ask her out already."

"A EUNUCH! I'll show you who has the stones here!" With that, Ron physically pushed Harry away from him and marched to the door. Harry was able to lift the shield with seconds to spare, thankfully. Exhausted, he sat on his bed for another few minutes, listening to Ron stamp down the stairs, through the common room, and then out the portrait hole. As soon as the portrait hole slammed shut, he heard softer, lighter steps hurrying in his direction. Ginny poked her head into the room.

"Bravo, hero. And nobody even died!"

"Not this time, but it was close." Ginny beamed at him. God, he missed that.

"So, what do you say we go down to lunch and celebrate your victory?" She moved forward to grab his arm and pull him off the bed.

"Sounds good. I'm famished. Meddling really makes a person hungry, you know." They laughed as they made their way to the Great Hall.