Hermione's Lament

Author's Note: I don't own the mentioned character, or the active character. All these rights to go J.K. Rowling, and Warner Brothers. However, I firmly believe that I am, in fact, Hermione. This is a truthful complaint, which I believe would have been plausible. I would also like to express the fact that I abhor Viktor Krum. I'm torn between Harry and Ron.And now, without further ado:

'First of all, I would just like to say that I do not comprehend the reasoning behind rumors. Where did everyone get the presumptuous idea that Harry and I were girlfriend and boyfriend? It is a problem which perplexes me, and I just can't seem to discern the answer. However, I am not here to discuss the relationship between Harry.and myself.'

'It has come to my attention that people seem to be under the delusion that Viktor and I are a permanent fixture. I certainly like him, that much is true. But he's 18, going on 19, and I'm 14, going on 15. Does anyone besides myself see the rather gargantuan difference between these ages?'

'I'd like to continue to see him.but there are other boys as well. This is where my quandary becomes clear: I like Ron.'

'I've liked him - or at least known that I've liked him - since the Winter Dance. I must admit, there are certain times when his stubbornly dense nature becomes bothersome. When he refused to wear his S.P.E.W. button, I was rather put off. I'd thought for certain that he'd listen to reason, or at least wear the badge once, simply because I'm his friend. But both Harry and Ron were stubborn about it.'

'And when those two bicker, you can't talk sense into either. When I wasn't aiding Harry, I was spending time with Ron, trying to get the two of them to apologize to each other. Perhaps that's when I began to like him. For the first time, I felt some kind of sympathy for him. It wasn't the first time I'd felt horrid after thinking about how poor he was, but for the first time, I could understand what it felt like for him, being in Harry's shadow.'

'When the dance was announced, I was hoping to find a partner. I assumed that either Ron or Harry would ask me, and we'd go as friends. Neither of them glanced my way. So, naturally, when Viktor came up to me in the library and asked me to be his partner, I agreed. If I'd known for even a moment that Ron might ask me.But once he did, it was too late. Besides, his manner was not what one would call polite. "You are a girl!" Hah! Of course I am.'

'Thus, I was duly reluctant to tell him with whom I was attending the dance. Especially after earlier fuss I'd made about Viktor.When I went to the dance that night, and saw the angry way Ron stared at me, it suddenly dawned on me. I had agreed to go with Viktor simply to make Ron jealous! That was when I realized that I, Hermione Granger, liked Ron Weasley. And if my guess was correct, he felt the same way.'

'It could have been simple, and perhaps Ron and I could've begun to date. However, I soon found that Viktor and I got along well, and he couldn't seem to tear himself away from me. I liked him too.'

'Of course, there are some obvious downsides to Viktor Krum. He lives so far away, that I doubt I'll get to see him often. The aforementioned age difference is also bad luck. Most importantly, though, is my name. A girl would like to have a boyfriend who's able to say her name correctly, at least! "Herm-own-ninny", he calls me. My name is Hermione. Her-my-oh- nee. Not that hard, is it? Ron and Harry seem to have no problem with it.'

'And so, I bring to a conclusion my lament over my love life. Who would've thought that I'd be worrying over two boys by the end of 4th year? And such an odd pair, at that. I plan to try and visit Viktor over the summer, and see what happens. After all, I don't expect him to keep dating me until I finish at Hogwarts. I may decide to break up with him. If I do, what's going to happen? Will there be another dance this year, one that I can go to with Ron?'

'There's really no use worrying about it, I suppose. I can't predict what will happen.if Professor Trelawney's any indication, I'm not sure I want to be able to predict the future.'

'As for those who continue to believe that I like Harry, I can assure you that I don't.'

*pause*

'Don't look at me like that.'

*pause*

'What're you trying to get at? Why do you keep staring at - oh.I know what this is about. No matter what any of you say, that was simply a fond goodbye kiss which I gave to Harry. Ron didn't get one, for obvious reasons. That was no indication whatsoever of my feelings for Harry Potter.'

*laughter*

'Shut up. Shut up now. If you'll excuse me, I've got summer work to finish.'