Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters.
A/N: This drabble was written for the HPRomione discord popcorn drabble challenge, given the prompt "You look so cute when you're mad."
Anticipation
"I can't BELIEVE her!"
Hermione stormed into the common room, eyes blazing with fury. Ron looked up from his chess match with Harry, wincing as their best friend came stomping towards them.
"She said her, right? So we know this isn't about one of us?" Ron quickly murmured to Harry, who only shrugged helplessly.
Bloody hell.
Hermione dropped herself onto the unoccupied chair next to their table, letting out a loud, exasperated sigh. She looked expectantly between the two of them, clearly waiting on them to acknowledge her.
Ron gave Harry a pleading look, who refused to meet his eyes, instead pretending to debate his next chess move.
His best mate was absolutely zero help when it came to Hermione. And if Harry even sensed conflict with her, he avoided it completely. Ron, however, was always willing to give in.
"What's the matter?" Ron finally asked hesitantly. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to egg her on even more, but she was relentless, that one.
"It's Umbridge! She's completely dismissed any theoretical remark I've tried to make during her lectures. It's dehumanizing, what she's trying to pull. She's sabotaging our education for her own propaganda..."
Although Ron heard what Hermione was saying, and he intensely agreed that Umbridge was a foul woman, he found it quite difficult to focus on listening to her rant. Instead, he was busy studying the intricacies of her face. Her hair was twisted back into a perfected plait, how she frequently wore it throughout the week. Her scarlet cheeks appeared flush with heat, and her face was adorably scrunched up as it often was when driven mad by frustration.
Ron must've been staring at her for too long, not realizing that his own face now displayed a lazy grin.
Hermione sent him a scathing scowl. "What?"
"You look so cute when you're mad."
Merlin's beard! What did he just say?
"What...did you just say?" Did she just bloody read his mind?
"Uh….wha...uhm…I don't remember..." Ron fumbled through breathless spurts, racking his brain desperately for a way to recover.
Harry was already snickering behind his chess pieces, the git.
"Actually mate, I think you said 'you look so cute when you're mad'. I'd be flattered, but I don't think you were directing that statement to me," Harry interjected cheekily.
Ron never had the urge to smack the wide smirk off of Harry's face so much in his life.
Harry unceremoniously knocked over his remaining chess pieces on the board. "Ah, bugger me, looks like I've lost again. See you two later!" He hastily left the table before disappearing at rapid speed up the staircase.
The boy who lived may be no more once Ron caught up with him later.
A long bout of awkward silence followed, and Ron wanted to slowly disappear out of the room, cursing the fact that he was underage and wasn't allowed to disapparate yet.
Ron cleared his throat, knowing he was going to have to say something to appease Hermione, who was still watching him expectantly. "So...you wanna play?"
Hermione gently dragged her teeth across her bottom lip, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Sure," she shyly responded, moving to take Harry's previous position. He noticed that her mood shifted significantly, and he found it curious that, for once, he had managed to say something to lift her spirits instead of being the one who irritated her.
Ron quietly reconfigured the board, stealing glances over at the brunette seated across from him as he worked. She really was pretty, and the thought made his palms sweat.
"Shall I start?" Ron questioned with a raised eyebrow. Hermione nodded silently and he shifted in his seat, inhaling slowly through his nose.
Ron moved his King's pawn to E4, his heart still racing out of anticipation. He met Hermione's timid gaze, one corner of his lips lifting. He had no idea what to expect next, but he was eager to find out.
"Your move."