Hermione tossed and turned in her bed, but she couldn't sleep. It wasn't just that Parvati and Lavender were still awake giggling about something in Witch Weekly, but that didn't help matters. As often as Hermione stayed up late to complete her assignments (or Ron and Harry's for that matter), Parvati and Lavender seemed to stay up to gossip or read magazines. Last year she'd brought them a huge stack of old Muggle magazines from her parents' dental office and it had entertained them for weeks. Tonight, though, there was a lot on her mind. Percy's letter had started it all. And to think he'd been someone Hermione had admired in her younger days. What had started out as a congratulatory letter to Ron had quickly turned sour. As she'd read the first paragraph, Hermione had almost wanted to stick up for Percy. But the feeing had quickly been erased. She had often wondered why she herself hadn't been put in Ravenclaw, but by the end of first year she'd discovered her bravery. She now wondered more than ever how Percy had ended up in Gryffindor. This letter showed nothing but cowardice! Well, he certainly wasn't loyal enough to be a Hufflepuff. It barely seemed he understood friendship. Clearly, all he had to offer the world was brains and he was squandering them by allowing himself to be brainwashed by the Ministry! He had it from Umbridge that Ron was now a prefect. Just the thought of Delores Umbridge uttering Ron's name outside of Hogwarts made Hermione'd blood boil. What else had she said about him? Surely Percy's idea that Harry was "unbalanced and, for all I know, violent-" was proof of the poison right there. Oh, Percy had always found him that way, had he? That was doubtful, considering how welcoming he'd been at first. To suggest that Ron could merely "sever his ties," with Harry was absurd. Harry was more like a brother to Hermione than Percy could ever be to Ron. And then to slander his own parents! Despite what Percy had said to defame Dumbledore or to keep the Ministry on a pedestal, this had been the last straw, in her opinion. Hermione would even look past the fact that Percy had called Umbridge a "really delightful woman." But Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were like second parents to Hermione. They were certainly all she had in the magical world and insulting them for their bravery was the lowest blow imaginable. It had been Ron's expression reading that portion of the letter that had prompted Hermione to take enough pity on him to help him with his homework. She cursed herself for being lenient on her own rules, but it was the least she could do for him whilst he had a traitor in the family. "and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions either." Hermione's anger waxed as she went over the foul sentences. Misguided, her arse! He was the one who was misguided. But then Percy had always been blinded by his own ambition. Last year, how he'd blithered around Crouch, who didn't even know his name, it was pathetic! She had half a mind to take ink to parchment and send a letter back to him, but it was Ron's issue, not hers.

Then there was Sirius's visit in the fire. Percy thought the Weasleys were misguided for their bravery and willingness to stand up to dark forces. Harry thought Sirius was misguided for attempting to join them for the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend (and she wholeheartedly agreed), and though Hermione hadn't said, she thought Harry was misguided in contacting Sirius without consulting Her and Ron for advice on how to best conceal the true meaning of his letter.

"Hermione, you are honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met and if I'm ever rude to you again-" Ron's words echoed in her mind. He'd been so sincere, so unabashed in his praise of her and though it had been over a homework assignment, she still had the feeling that it was about more than that. Of course she'd ruined it by jumping in with, "I'll know you're back to normal," and then she'd given her attention to Harry. Why did she continue to cut him down like that? Was she really so afraid to be vulnerable for him? She told herself that it was only because Harry had been there and she didn't want to make him feel awkward, but deep down she knew that a part of her was scared. Who knew what Ron would say if she'd let him. He thought with his heart first and brain second and she was always the other way 'round. He rarely ever said anything he didn't mean and maybe he would have said something sweet and poignant had she not squashed it. Maybe he would have become embarrassed and turned beet-red, but he would have taken the risk and been embarrassed later. That was true Gryffindor bravery. She was already so embarrassed by the mere thought of him flattering her, that she stepped on it like a bug in order to keep her embarrassment at bay. Rising, she pulled on her bathrobe and exited for the common room without so much as a glance from Lavender or Parvati. She grabbed a basket of hats she'd knitted just so she'd have something to do.

"Hey," Ron's voice sounded off the stone walls as she entered the common room. It was empty, save him, and he'd immediately stood when he'd seen her.

"Hey," she repeated, stopping at the bottom step, hands on the basket.

"What have you got there?" he asked moving towards her.

"Oh, just some more hats." She deposited the basket by the fireplace and took two out, absentmindedly handing one to him.

"They look better!" He exclaimed. "More like hats! I mean, not that they haven't always...looked like hats, but now...they look like something my mum would make... Because, she's good at knitting, I mean! She knits a lot of things, always has..."

"Thank you, Ronald," mused Hermione. He'd obviously been afraid of offending her and watching him defend himself brought a smile to her lips. "You were right, they were terrible before. I'd be surprised if they actually worked. How would a House-Elf even have known it was supposed to be wearable?"

"Nah, they'd know," said Ron sweetly. Hermione noticed something shiny in his hand. His prefect badge. He turned it over with is fingers, examining it.

"I wish I had gone the 'Fred and George route.' I'm not cut out for this, Hermione." The reference to Percy's nasty letter made Hermione cringe.

"Ron, of course you are."

"But I don't like it! I thought I would. I thought I'd love to have the attention, but I don't. It's mostly just negative. Who listens to us anyway? Malfoy abuses his...I'm already behind in work, or I would be if it wasn't for you and we have all these extra duties..."

"At least we're in it together," she said timidly, without thinking. It was very Ron-like. Silence fell. Ron stared at her for what felt like an eternity.

"It's the only good part. I'm not cut out for fame, Hermione. I always thought I was jealous of Harry for being special, for being on the Quidditch team... that's half the reason I wanted to join the house team...to see what it was like. But it's not how I imagined. Well, actually it is... worse than I imagined. What's a bloke like me doing on the team? That practice we had...horrible. Because of me! I'm bloody worthless."

Hermione thought she was near tears, but she concealed it by crouching down behind an armchair with one of her hats.

"Ron. Don't let Percy get to you." She knew where this was coming from. This kind of self-abasement was bad, even for Ron. He had this undercurrent of bad thoughts about himself all the time, but it took something especially monumental to bring them to the surface.

"Yeah, you're right," he said, after a minute.

"Being a prefect has very little to do with the Quidditch team," pointed out Hermione.

"But I was excited about being prefect for the same reason," admitted Ron, "for glory. People always seem disappointed in me. I thought...I thought I could turn that around this year. It seems like a terrible thing for a best mate to say, but sometimes I feel...overshadowed," Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Ron didn't let her speak. "By Harry, by you. Hell, my whole family..."

"Ron!"

"I finally have a chance and I crack under pressure!" He tossed the prefect badge towards the center of the room and Hermione retrieved it automatically.

"Well, I've never been disappointed in you," she said, looking at the badge rather than him.

"Of course you have."

"Not about anything important, Ron."

"You were disappointed that I didn't ask you to the Yule Ball."

"If memory serves me, you did ask," said Hermione. She couldn't decide whether to be bemused or angry.

"Yeah, well..." Ron started. "Say, how's Vicky?" Ron asked in a mocking tone.

"None of your business," she said defensively, her old habits creeping in on her.

"I mean, we don't really talk," she added casually. Ron looked at her skeptically. It was true, they didn't really talk. She'd declined to visit him over the past summer despite his invitation. She didn't want to lead him on. He'd sent a few letters but her replies had been terse and to the point. But now, Ron's accusation got her thinking. Maybe he would know something about Harry's scar hurting? Sirius had offered precious little information or new opinions about the subject, which had been what Harry's letter was all about. Though Viktor was not a dark wizard himself, by any means, he was older, had completed his education, and had more experience with the Dark Arts because it was dealt more in his curriculum at Durmstrang. It was certainly handled better than it was currently being handled at Hogwarts under Umbridge. Perhaps Viktor would have some advice as to how they could learn to defend themselves despite a terrible teacher. He was no slouch. He knew a thing or two about spells. Of course! Why hadn't she thought if it before? Anything Umbridge refused to tell them, why Viktor would already know it. He could help!

"Hermione?!" Ron mad her jump, his voice cutting through her thoughts like a knife. Any anger he'd had about Viktor seemed to have disappeared. He seemed genuinely concerned. Hermione was vaguely aware that she'd been staring into space, holding a pair of hats in front of her.

"I should get to bed," she said. Her voice almost acted as a cue for the sun. Gentle white light began to spill in from the window and Ron yawned out of habit. He looked instinctively out the window and Hermione could feel his sprit drop.

"We have to be awake in a couple of hours," he said sadly.

"Well, I have an idea."

"What?"

"There's a charm that can make you feel as though you've slept a full eight hours...even if you haven't slept at all. I'm only slightly familiar with it...that is, I've read about it..."

"That's good enough for me!"

"Just this once, though."

"Oh, of course. Listen, Hermione, you're better at spells you've just 'read about' than most of us are at spells we've studied for years. just do it. I trust you. That and I'm really tired." Ron closed his eyes expectantly and Hermione pulled out her wand trying to remember the exact phrasing.

"Dormire Bene Exponentia" said Hermione waving her wand over Ron's head. He opened his eyes expectantly, but nothing happened immediately.

"Now you do it for me," she said.

"I don't feel different."

"It won't work until you've actually gone to sleep. But When you wake up, you'll feel rested."

Taking out his wand, Ron looked reluctantly at Hermione, cleared his throat and then repeated her words in nearly perfect imitation.

"Well. Goodnight, then," she said.

"Goodnight." Ron moved towards the stairs before stopping suddenly.

"Wait! Your hats! You didn't put them all out!"

"Oh. You're right. Well, I'll save them for later."

"They really do look nice," he said.

Ascending the stairs, Hermione vaguely felt the power of her the spell hitting her, even before she slept. It felt like the hours melted away as she laid back down and she just hoped that in the morning it had worked.