Ronald Weasley was feeling incredibly lonesome. Harry would not be returning for another few days at least ("time to heal in peace" The Headmaster had said) and Hermione was as good as absent. Each feeble though entirely sincere attempt to reach her needed even more courage then the last as her mind seemed to be in a sure and steady decline; every conversation with the poor witch scared Ron more than the last.

Being that he was so alone he often found himself reminiscing about the good old days: The days when they were younger, their greatest fear was the cold and bat-like potions master and their biggest problems consisted of a homework load so gargantuan that it seemed it should have been punishable by wizard law to assign so many assignments at once and a greasy overly-feminine Slytherin by the name of Draco Malfoy. At some point during his musings he realized that those days were nonexistent as trouble seemed to follow Harry like a lovesick puppy. Ever since day one there had been constant trials, tests, and troubles for them however there had also been a great friendship; one that he felt dissipating faster by the moment.

He missed having Harry, the incredibly brave and determined old soul encased deceptively in a child's body with his hideous ever-present bed head and preternatural luck and skill on his right. Possibly even more so he missed having the brilliant, quick witted, incredibly talented, and beautiful (albeit slightly mental) witch sitting on his left. More than anything in the world he wanted them to sit at the dining table again while he stuffed his face and conversed with Harry about pointless and stupid things (Such as the best way to capture, restrain, and question an army of vicious renegade chocolate frogs) instead of doing their homework. He wanted Hermione sitting next to him with her nose buried in a book, only coming up for air to tell him that he ate like a starving Neanderthal.

He chuckled at other various memories before becoming incredibly depressed. Their fifth year was not even three quarters of the way done and already it had managed to drive them apart. Harry no longer confided in Ron as he used to and completely kept his distance from Hermione. He was caught in the middle watching as Harry and him grew apart and Hermione continued spiraling downward into madness. Occasionally he would look at her and nearly slap himself for being reminded of Bellatrix Lestrange. At times Hermione certainly would look if not criminally insane then only completely mad. Rarely he would look at her and for only a second see Hermione as she had always been staring back at him. It made is gut clench with sorrow.

One day in potions he found himself near tears with worry as he watched an increasingly gaunt and cadaverous Hermione sigh numbly as she stirred her potion. Perhaps he cared for her more than he had thought. He decided that it would be that night when he would talk to her.

He was feeling severely exhausted that night as he sat in the common room watching Hermione savagely flip through a book with such vigor that she was nearly tearing pages out. He had been waiting for several hours for the common room to clear so he could speak to her in private but it seemed that luck was not with him. While it was nearly eleven and the room had been gradually clearing during the night there was a very small number of students who seemed persistent to linger late into the night.

Being that it was nearing eleven Ron knew that he could not stay awake much longer and decided to take his chances. The small number of remaining Gryffindors had given Hermione a wide berth and it seemed that that would be the most privacy he would ever get. He rose from his chair by the fire and slowly walked over to the poor girl. He approached her slowly, as one might approach a sleeping lion or a madman. He quietly sat in the chair opposite her and watched her. Even after several minutes she seemed to have no idea that he was there.

"Hermione…" He said quietly, already wondering what in Merlin's name had possessed him to come over to her. He never knew what to say and when and his lack of tact could prove disastrous when dealing with someone in the state which Hermione was in. He almost let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding when she did not respond to him. The boy knew that he had to try.

This time he did not say anything. He knew from previous experience that he could try what he had just tried all night and get no response from the girl. He leaned across the table and gently took her face in his hands, forcing her to look up from her books and at him.

"Hermione," He said. Though her eyes were directed at him it seemed as though she was looking past him or through him. "Why are you doing this?" She didn't answer him. "Hermione, what the hell is wrong with you? You don't eat, you don't sleep, you just kind of float around like a bloody ghost!" His tone was soft and his eyes were filled with worry even if his statement was less than eloquent. Hermione still did not reply. He called to her again and she sighed. There was slight annoyance in her eyes but no other emotion was revealed on her countenance.

"My mental, physical, and emotional state should be of no consequence to you." She said vacantly. Her voice sounded dry and awkward, as if she had not spoken in a long time.

Ron had less than half an inkling as to what the girl had said but he still attempted to communicate with her. Eventually he settled on a concerned "How do you figure that?" as he was not certain of how to respond.

"You and I are no longer friends." She said just as blankly. This irked Ron and her emotionless façade only seemed to fan the flame.

"How the fuck do you figure that?" He asked indignantly.

"You're choice was obvious. You had to choose between Harry Potter: Savior of the Wizarding World, a young man with power that will someday rival Dumbledore's and Hermione Granger: the irrelevant little mudblood who just happened to tag along for the ride. All though I cannot say that I blame you for your decision I do not think I can remain friends with you."

While Ron did completely understand what she had said he had gotten the gist of it and it made him even angrier.

"I didn't choose anything!" He cried. "Every time I've tried to talk to you for the past couple of months you've either gone bonkers or totally ignored me. It's all your fault I'm stuck with Harry-the-bloody-space-case-Potter constantly. It's all your fucking fault!"

Hermione looked at Ron, looked down, looked up at him again. Her eyes flooded with tears and her head collapsed on top of the book before her. Her cadaverous hands turned to sharp-boned fists in her bushy mane of hair. "I know!" She cried over and over again as tears streamed down her face.

"If I could have just left it alone none of this would have happened! I should have just waited for Harry to be ready to tell me. I was just…weren't you worried? He was getting those Occlumency lessons so his mind and thoughts would be safe and he walked around in a daze. How was I to know that there wasn't something sinister going on? And then when Snape said…it just all made so much sense and I just had to know…because I always know! Ah, it was as much for the safety of Harry's sanity as my own! It was driving me mad Ron…"

"I know." He replied. There was a long silence.

"And what are you all involved in that Umbridge keeps haranguing me about!? What is going on Ron? Why am I…you…it…so unlike me…"

At some point during her inane babbling Ron moved across to the other side of the table and put his arms around her. He held her as she continued to blubber and babble. At one point during the night (after Hermione had calmed considerably) they had moved to a duvet by one of the windows and sat. Hermione, who was exhausted from crying, fell asleep leaning against Ron, who was simply exhausted.

Author's Note/ Review Reply:

moony-is-a-werewolf: The other's are from Die Hard, Robin Hood, Kim Possible, Silence of the Lambs, Phantom of the Opera, Starwars, Lord of the Rings, Hairspray, and Van Helsing. I just kind of put down whatever popped into my head when I thought of quotes by villains.

KatAndMonkey:It was Sirius. Remus and he aren't getting along at the moment so that's what's up with all of the animosity. And , incase you haven't noticed, he's been seeing strange things whenever he's in a state of semi-consciousness throughout the entire story. That will be explained aswell. I actually started this story last year but got lost and have been struggling trying to fix it so it meets my standards now.

AN: "Buckleberry ferry!" "Excuse me bad guys, but I am running out of air." "GIVE ME MY BLUE BLANKET!" "Ah, so I see your schwartz is as big as mine." "Do or do not, there is no try." "That really bites." "And I'll sing while my brother Oren taps along to the strange rhythms in his head." "You know, like that rock musical about Jack the Ripper called Saucy Jack." "The feast...IT'S RUINED!!" "You have a touch of destiny about you" "And under 'name' they drew a picture of a monkey fucking a coconut!" "VAGINA DENTADA!!" "Well, actually I'm just a friar..."