When Spells Go Wrong

Harry looked at his watch. He had better get ready for class soon.

"We should get going," He told Hermione and Ron.

"Right," Hermione agreed. She took one last bite of toast and stood up.

Ron apparently hadn't heard Harry. He was looking over his shoulder and was practically drooling.

"Ron?" Harry asked.

"Uh?" Ron responded. He was still staring. Hermione followed his gaze to a pretty 6th year at the Ravenclaw table.

"Why are you staring at her?" Hermione snapped with her hands on her hips.

"What? Oh... Hermione... yeah, just a second." Ron faced her briefly, then went back to staring.

"He is so pathetic," Hermione whispered loudly to Harry. She fixed her bright, beautiful eyes back on Ron. "When you're done acting like an idiot, we'll be in Herbology."

"Fine, I'm coming," Ron said, irritated.

They walked out across the grounds together. Along the way they passed some Ravenclaws going to Care of Magical Creatures. Cho Chang near the end of the crowd. Harry saw her and blushed brighter than he ever had.

"I like your haircut," she said to Harry as she passed.

"Er... umm... thanks!" Harry said back. He waved patheticly as she retreated and managed to drop his books on the dewy grass.

Ron snorted, but Harry didn't notice.

"Did you see that? She talked to me! She really talked to me!" He said, stunned. Then he looked back at his friends, who couldn't keep a straight face, and came to his sensed.

"I-I mean... er... that was nice of her." Harry tried to cover up his mistake unsuccessfully while picking up what he dropped.

Ron stopped laughing, but that was only because among the crowd he spotted the pretty girl who he was staring at over breakfast.

"I think Ron is in love," Harry smirked.

Hermione's stomach got a strange knot in it. Ron in love? With that piece of filth?

"Oh, shut up," Ron said. His ears were burning.

They entered the greenhouses without another word. Harry had a very glazed look about him and Ron kept looking over his shoulder as if the girl was following him. Hermione rolled her eyes, but she also felt very strange. Why were they suddenly drooling over these girls? They weren't all that special. Just because their hair was straight and their faces were perfect and always smiled like idiots. That didn't make them anything great. Did it? Hermione took a strand of her own hair and looked at it. It was frizzy and tangled and a an ugly, mousy brown.

Hermione suddenly thought about what she was doing. What did she care what she looked like? And why should she care that Ron and Harry cared? She didn't, right?

Well, maybe...

·~··~··~·

The last few minutes of class seemed like hours to Ron and Harry. Ron tapped his foot impatiently and Harry tapped his quill on his books. They both checked their watches every 3 seconds. Tap, check, tap, check, tap, check...

Hermione couldn't stand it. It was clear why they were so impatient; they both wanted to "bond" with those Ravenclaw girls. They were completely forgetting her. Those stupid, ignorant, shallow...

The bell rang and the boys shot out of the room.

"Sure, don't wait for me! I'll be fine all alone," Hermione called after them. Of course, they didn't hear her. She sighed at gathered her things. She walked out the door and slumped across the grounds. Not far ahead she saw Harry and Ron talking with the Ravenclaw girls. Harry was limping slightly. Funny, he didn't still have that limp while running to catch up with Cho.

I guess seeing a pretty girl makes you remember how much of a quidditch hero you are, doesn't it Harry? Hermione thought.

She entered the castle and immediatly saw Lavender.

"Hi, Hermione," Lavender said as Hermione passed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hermione gloomily.

Fred just happened to be walking by, but doubled-back to secretly catch what was going on.

"Oh, come on. I can tell something's wrong. Tell me. I promise you'll feel better," Lavender coaxed.

"Well," Hermione hesitated. "It's just that... Ron and Harry went running after some glittery, fake-faced girls and left me all alone."

"Oooh," Lavender smiled as if Hermione was giving a hint about something. "I get it. And you're upset because they don't seem so in love with you now."

"No! Are you crazy? That's not it at all! Completely missed the point," Hermione stormed off.

Fred cursed quietly. That idiot! Ron was supposed to fall in love with Hermione, not anyone else! Now he just made things ten times worse, when he was just trying to help. All he wanted was Hermione and Ron would fall in love by magic and Harry would be out of the picture; was that so much to ask? Why was fate against Fred?

·~··~··~·

Hermione ran off to the girls' bathroom. Her face felt red and puffy, like she would cry. She would just stay in here for a second until her face looked normal again, but as soon as she walked in she began to sob. Oh, why was Hermione being so emotional? She was never like this. Hermione walked into a stall and put the seat down on the toilet so she could sit down. She put her face in her hands and breathed deeply. The worst thing was she wasn't sure why she was crying. It didn't matter if Harry and Ron were attracted to girls. She was sure they wouldn't mind if she liked some boy. But at least she wouldn't run out on them just to chase some guy. They were sometimes just so rude!

While pondering these thoughts, Hermione heard a few pairs of feet walk in. She peered through the crack between the door and the wall. Cho, the Oh-so-pretty-I-just-have-to-drool-over-her girl Ron liked, and a few others were there, checking their hair and giggling.

"Oh, he looks so good with that hair and no glasses!" Cho was saying. "I mean, at first he was cute, but now he is just adorable!"

Hermione almost gagged. How could anyone like girls like these?

"And his eyes!" Cho continued.

The rest of the girls groaned longingly.

"They're so stunning! I mean, how can you get much cuter than green eyes?"

Well, guess who he was looking at with those eyes at midnight just a few short nights ago? Hermione thought. If he looked at you like that, which he never will, I'm sure you'll just die, won't you?

Hermione wanted to scream. Why was she thinking about Harry like that? Was she jealous? No, no... she wasn't. Of course not. But why did she want to go punch that girl Ron liked in the face? Why was she hiding in the bathroom, crying? Why? Why? WHY?

Hermione pulled at her hair at bit her tongue. With shaking hands, she reached for her wand She pointed it under the door, right next to the end of the pretty girl's robes. Hermione whispered a spell and soon the girl's robes were on fire.

"Rachel, your robes!" a girl shreaked. Soon they were all screaming and trying to stomp out the fire.

Hermione couldn't help but giggle as she crept out unnoticed and ran off to her next class.