Screwed Romance

AN: Um...nothing to say. (Told you, didn't I?)

Disclaimer: NMDS (Not mine. Don't sue.)

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Hermione got off the train, leaving Hogwarts behind forever. She looked back at it as someone handed her her bags. Ron and Harry and Seamus and a few other boys were talking and laughing as they got off.

"You all right, Hermione?" came Neville's soft voice. He looked at her, most concerned.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. Would you mind helping me carry my bags?" she asked.

"Sure."

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Ron looked over at Hermione and Neville and felt his blood run cold. They weren't together, were they? He hoped not. He prayed it wasn't so.

"You listening?" Seamus asked.

Ron turned sharply at him as his train of thought was broken. "Huh? Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Making goo-goo eyes at Hermione, I see," he teased.

Ron glared at him. He would've beaten him up had his mother's voice called out his name. "Rooon!"

"Let's go, Ginny," Ron said, pulling Ginny from Colin. She continued to wave to Colin as he dragged her off.

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"I heard about you and Hermione," Fred said sympathetically as he sat down at the dining table in the Burrow. The entire family was there for the vacation.

"Don't remind me," Ron said quietly, stirring his hot chocolate. Mrs. Weasley would've interfered had she, Mr. Weasley, and Ginny not gone off to buy something or other. The rest of the Weasley men were in the kitchen.

Charlie laid a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about it," he said encouragingly, though he didn't sound as convincing as he wanted to. "There're plenty of other fish in the sea."

"But none like her," Ron unconsciously retorted. He sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go upstairs to clean my room."

The boys watched Ron walk away, then began to talk to each other. "I know that Ron's still hung up on her, but how're we suppose to help him?" George asked.

Fred shook his head. "I'd be damned if I knew." Due to habit, he looked around, paranoid his mother might be around to hear him.

Bill sighed. "I don't know. Any ideas, Percy?"

Percy shook his head, for once sympathizing for his brother instead of yelling the house down. "Penelope and I have never had problems like this. I can't speak from experience. How about you and the Patil twins?" he asked, turning to Fred and George.

Fred and George put up their identical grins. "Problems, us?" Fred asked devilishly.

Bill rolled his eyes. "I'll just take a 'no,' please," he muttered. "All right...back to brainstorming."

The brothers shared their ideas, but nothing much came of it and eventually, they gave up. For the day, anyway. Eventually they'd have to go back to thinking in order to help their distressed, younger brother.

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"I wonder when she's going to get here," Mr. Weasley said, his brow furrowed in worry. Harry was at the Weasley's for a visit before the new year started and Ginny would be leaving. He managed a job as an intern, with pay, for Mr. Weasley. He was aware that Mr. Weasley would also have another intern, but he had no idea who it was.

"Who do you mean?" Fred asked, spreading jam on his toast.

"Hermione," Mr. Weasley said absently. He and Mrs. Weasley were not aware of Ron's situation with Hermione, so they acted as though nothing had happened. Everyone else, however, froze. Fred looked a George and George looked at Fred. Everyone else was also looking around, finally, their gazes fell onto Ron, who was just entering the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. He had heard nothing and the others didn't want him to. No one noticed the identical grins George and Fred gave each other as things continued as they were before Mr. Weasley made his announcement.

"Pass the toast please," Ron said to George. George handed his brother the plate of toast and winked at Fred. Fred nodded and tapped his fork on the table twice, signaling a meeting later. Everyone else nodded as they continued to talk.

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AN: You're probably wondering why I'm taking so long, huh? Hehe. ::sweatdrop:: I've been a bit busy writing some other fics. To be specific, I've been working on Betrayal and...um...I forgot the name of that other fic...hehe. It's some sort of an all-anime crossover. If you've read it, then you know which one I'm talking about. Anyway, here's the next chapter. And yes, I know that it's a bit...boring and uneventful, well...just wait till the next one. Oh, and just to reassure you, this IS a Ron/Hermione fic and it IS romance and there WILL be a happy ending. Sadly, that just has to come at the end. Oh, please review. And please read some of my other fics. I have another fic up called Wedding, and it's a Ginny/Malfoy one. Read and review that, too, please. Anyway, no reviews and I'll just assume no one likes my fics, so review for this one and I'll get started on the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.