Disclaimer: At the present time I do not own Harry Potter, but I'm turning
fourteen in thirty-eight days, and I would love it if someone would give me
the rights to Harry Potter!
A/N: I'm sooooo sorry that the last chapter was so short and pointless- it was going to be combined with what happens in this chapter, but I didn't have time and I wanted to post SOMETHING. So, here is a longer chapter. Enjoy!
Harry mumbled something about being tired and shuffled out of the Great Hall. Once in the hall, he quickened his pace in order to get to the library without making Hermione wait. Apparently, he hadn't gone fast enough, because when he arrived in the library, Hermione was sitting down and reading her book in their usual section.
"Took you long enough," she said dryly without looking up from her book.
"Well, how did YOU get here so fast then?" Harry asked, annoyed, as he had left a maximum of sixty seconds after Hermione. Hermione graced him with a withering look.
"Shortcuts, Harry, surely you'd know all of them, with that map?" Harry shook his head, trying hard not to laugh. Trust Hermione to know every shortcut to the library! She snapped her book shut. "So, why don't you finish what you foolishly blurted out in the common room." Harry squirmed a bit uncomfortably.
"Well, see. . ." I'll start with Ron, Harry told himself. "I know we're all best friends, but, with Ron and me being the boys and all, well, you know, we're a bit closer. . ." Hermione nodded.
"Trust me, I know."
"So, you never hear what he's got to say about you. He gets so. . . MAD every time you beat him at something, because he ends up feeling bloody pathetic, and he gets enough of that about his family from Malfoy. . ."
"Great Merlin," Hermione whispered. "I must've sounded exactly like Malfoy in Dumbledore's office. No wonder. . ."
Harry nodded. "That was about the gist of it, from what I could tell. And anyway, just the fact that Ron CARES about your opinion is saying something. He wants to impress you, and he always loses, and then he gets mad, because he ends up looking like a fool.
"Then there's you. I know there's one reason you argue with Ron- to talk to him. Seriously. You figure he's always going to be angry with you, so you fight back, just to have an excuse to talk to him. Am I right?" It was Hermione's turn to squirm.
"Well, sort of. . ."
"Remember the Yule Ball, in our fourth year? You went with Krum. Ron was so mad about that, because you were 'fraternizing with the enemy'. . . I told him he needed to work on his excuses after he said that line. Honestly. He was quite jealous, couldn't you tell?" Hermione shook her head wordlessly.
"I never thought. . . ." she stared off into space, then jumped, collecting herself. "I suppose you've caught me. Yes, I've always had a . . . .I don't know, I wouldn't call it a crush, it wasn't something silly and girlish. . .an attraction, I guess, to Ron. In a way, he reminds me of me. You know? So determined. So prideful. He never takes anything from Malfoy, he always stands up for himself. And he never lets himself lose. I never do either. I guess that's why it's been so hard. . . . to approach him, I mean. I think we both felt like if we admitted our feelings we'd be losing, in a way. Coming across as weak. We're both just too stubborn, I guess." Hermione laughed, a hint of bitterness in her voice, her eyes glinting strangely, subtly hinting at tears.
"I think you're right," Harry said softly. "But I also think you're wrong. If you told Ron how you felt, you two would end up together, and that's what you want, isn't it? And if getting what you want isn't winning, I don't know what is." Hermione looked at him, tilted her head, then smiled.
"Thanks Harry. But don't you think for a moment that giving me good advice gets you out of trouble for saying what you did in the common room!" Harry looked panic-stricken. He stood up and started walking towards the front of the door.
"I'll just go now, we can discuss that later. . ." Hermione chased after him, laughing. They both ran all the way to the common room, not caring a fig about teachers catching them.
They burst in laughing. "So," Hermione said in between giggles. "Where is he?" Harry looked around the room.
"Dunno," he said at last. "Still eating?" Hermione laughed at that suggestion.
"Probably. Look, if you don't mind, I think I'll go down and. . .talk to him," Hermione stuttered the last part a bit nervously. You can do it, she told herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After Harry had assured Hermione he didn't mind her leaving, he went up to his bedroom. Having nothing better to do, he took out his Firebolt and broom polishing kit. After four years, they still hadn't come out with a better model. The Excaliber 1776, a remake of a medieval broom, updated of course, had been an utter failure, although Malfoy had been suckered into buying it. Harry had had a good laugh when the broom started losing tail twigs during a fifth year match, causing Malfoy's broom to veer to the left throughout the entire game.
"Don't judge a broom by its paint, Malfoy," he whispered under his breath.
If he was lucky, Hermione would talk to Ron, and they would enter Gryffindor Tower that night as an official couple.
************************************************************************
"Hi Ron," Hermione said cheerfully, causing him to stare. She had just been ignoring him all through dinner. Now here she was, happily greeting him like they were chirpy first years. Huh? He wondered.
"Um, hi," he said, very articulately.
"I found out that I know more shortcuts than Harry," she burbled. "Who would've thought?" In truth, Hermione was nervous. It was one thing to feel brave when she was talking to Harry. It was another to actually confess her feelings to Ron Weasley, in person. It seemed like it was all happening too fast. . .the picture Harry had painted now seemed too good to be true. Failure seemed so much more likely here than in the library. And Hermione didn't like to fail.
"Amazing," Ron said dryly. Hermione's grin faltered. "Oh, come on. You can't expect me to just play along, now that you're through being mad at me." Hermione's eyes turned cold.
"If that's how you feel about it. . ." she started to get up. Ron stuffed mashed potatoes into his mouth, determined to ignore her, but at the last minute, he chickened out.
"Wai'," he managed to get out around his potatoes. Much to his dismay, a large chunk fell out of his mouth and onto his plate. Whirling back around, Hermione caught this and started laughing loudly. Ron cleared his throat. "I mean, wait."
Hermione continued laughing. "Honestly Ron! Hungry, aren't we! No need to stuff yourself!" She gasped out. Already blushing, Ron turned even redder.
"Fine then." He pushed his plate away from him, and this time it was Ron pretending to leave.
"No, don't go," Hermione said a bit more seriously. "I had something to ask you. . . .or, well, tell you, maybe. . . ."
Ron looked at her quizzically. Were his eyes deceiving him, or did Hermione Granger actually look nervous? "What?" he asked.
Hermione looked down at the floor, and then at Ron's shoe under the table. "Er. . .well, it's just that. . .Harry was saying. . . oh, who am I kidding, I can't do this," she whispered the last part to herself. Unfortunately, Ron heard her.
"Do what?" Now his curiosity was aroused more than ever. Hermione looked up at him, her expression rather pained.
"Harry said. . . that you like me and I like you," she said in a rush. Ron, whose blush had faded, turned distinctly scarlet.
"Bloody idiot, I'll get him," he muttered, before turning to Hermione. He put on a false bright face. "Well, you didn't believe him, did you? I mean, we all know that I don't like you, and you don't like me, I mean, come on, we argue all the time, it's like, common knowledge, so, where's the confusion? Because it quite obviously is NOT true." Actually, it was quite obvious that it WAS.
Hermione's eyes turned glassy once again. "Yeah. . ." she said softly. "I knew that. I was just. . .making sure, you know. . .I suppose I'd better get up to bed." With that, she rushed out of the Great Hall and up her dormitory, where she flung herself down on her bed and cried.
************************************************************************
Harry was polishing the handle of his Firebolt when a sudden thought occurred to him.
If Hermione and Ron were a couple, he would be a third wheel.
Lovely.
How pleasant.
He could've smacked himself. Bloody pathetic idiot you are, Harry Potter, he mentally berated himself. He didn't want to lose his two best friends, especially not to each other!
Then again, on the other hand, it was quite obvious that they were totally head over heels for each other, and it would be best for everyone if they just ADMITTED it.
So what was his problem?
************************************************************************
That was NOT supposed to go like that, Ron told himself furiously. It always happened this way. He got really close to telling Hermione how he felt about her, and then at the last minute, he chickened out and, not entirely on purpose, managed to get her completely angry with him.
Call him multi-talented, but Ron Weasley felt like an idiot.
Dejectedly, he pushed his mashed potatoes around his plate with his fork. What was he supposed to do now? Sit here all night so he didn't have to face Hermione or Harry? Harry. . . .
He had told! He told Hermione! Ron growled under his breath. Thanks loads, Harry, he said sarcastically in his head. What a mess. At he had someone besides himself to be angry with now.
Ron decided to brave the common room to get to his dormitory, where he was going to yell at Harry and then go to sleep. What a day. What a bloody awful day.
************************************************************************
A/N: Well, that wasn't as long as I would've like it to be, but it had to end there, because A) it was a good stopping point, and B) I need to do my homework. Bloody homework! That's the reason I haven't posted in a while, stupid science project. . .I got about four hours of sleep a night for the past three weeks, it's finally caught up to me. I got really weird today, cos I'm so tired. I hope it didn't affect my writing.
About my writing. . .ahem. Well, I tried my hardest to keep Harry, Ron, and especially Hermione in character. It was hard, I still don't know if I succeeded, especially Hermione and Harry's little discussion. I would really love it if you would review and tell me if I kept them in character, or if they are totally unrecognizable!
A/N: I'm sooooo sorry that the last chapter was so short and pointless- it was going to be combined with what happens in this chapter, but I didn't have time and I wanted to post SOMETHING. So, here is a longer chapter. Enjoy!
Harry mumbled something about being tired and shuffled out of the Great Hall. Once in the hall, he quickened his pace in order to get to the library without making Hermione wait. Apparently, he hadn't gone fast enough, because when he arrived in the library, Hermione was sitting down and reading her book in their usual section.
"Took you long enough," she said dryly without looking up from her book.
"Well, how did YOU get here so fast then?" Harry asked, annoyed, as he had left a maximum of sixty seconds after Hermione. Hermione graced him with a withering look.
"Shortcuts, Harry, surely you'd know all of them, with that map?" Harry shook his head, trying hard not to laugh. Trust Hermione to know every shortcut to the library! She snapped her book shut. "So, why don't you finish what you foolishly blurted out in the common room." Harry squirmed a bit uncomfortably.
"Well, see. . ." I'll start with Ron, Harry told himself. "I know we're all best friends, but, with Ron and me being the boys and all, well, you know, we're a bit closer. . ." Hermione nodded.
"Trust me, I know."
"So, you never hear what he's got to say about you. He gets so. . . MAD every time you beat him at something, because he ends up feeling bloody pathetic, and he gets enough of that about his family from Malfoy. . ."
"Great Merlin," Hermione whispered. "I must've sounded exactly like Malfoy in Dumbledore's office. No wonder. . ."
Harry nodded. "That was about the gist of it, from what I could tell. And anyway, just the fact that Ron CARES about your opinion is saying something. He wants to impress you, and he always loses, and then he gets mad, because he ends up looking like a fool.
"Then there's you. I know there's one reason you argue with Ron- to talk to him. Seriously. You figure he's always going to be angry with you, so you fight back, just to have an excuse to talk to him. Am I right?" It was Hermione's turn to squirm.
"Well, sort of. . ."
"Remember the Yule Ball, in our fourth year? You went with Krum. Ron was so mad about that, because you were 'fraternizing with the enemy'. . . I told him he needed to work on his excuses after he said that line. Honestly. He was quite jealous, couldn't you tell?" Hermione shook her head wordlessly.
"I never thought. . . ." she stared off into space, then jumped, collecting herself. "I suppose you've caught me. Yes, I've always had a . . . .I don't know, I wouldn't call it a crush, it wasn't something silly and girlish. . .an attraction, I guess, to Ron. In a way, he reminds me of me. You know? So determined. So prideful. He never takes anything from Malfoy, he always stands up for himself. And he never lets himself lose. I never do either. I guess that's why it's been so hard. . . . to approach him, I mean. I think we both felt like if we admitted our feelings we'd be losing, in a way. Coming across as weak. We're both just too stubborn, I guess." Hermione laughed, a hint of bitterness in her voice, her eyes glinting strangely, subtly hinting at tears.
"I think you're right," Harry said softly. "But I also think you're wrong. If you told Ron how you felt, you two would end up together, and that's what you want, isn't it? And if getting what you want isn't winning, I don't know what is." Hermione looked at him, tilted her head, then smiled.
"Thanks Harry. But don't you think for a moment that giving me good advice gets you out of trouble for saying what you did in the common room!" Harry looked panic-stricken. He stood up and started walking towards the front of the door.
"I'll just go now, we can discuss that later. . ." Hermione chased after him, laughing. They both ran all the way to the common room, not caring a fig about teachers catching them.
They burst in laughing. "So," Hermione said in between giggles. "Where is he?" Harry looked around the room.
"Dunno," he said at last. "Still eating?" Hermione laughed at that suggestion.
"Probably. Look, if you don't mind, I think I'll go down and. . .talk to him," Hermione stuttered the last part a bit nervously. You can do it, she told herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After Harry had assured Hermione he didn't mind her leaving, he went up to his bedroom. Having nothing better to do, he took out his Firebolt and broom polishing kit. After four years, they still hadn't come out with a better model. The Excaliber 1776, a remake of a medieval broom, updated of course, had been an utter failure, although Malfoy had been suckered into buying it. Harry had had a good laugh when the broom started losing tail twigs during a fifth year match, causing Malfoy's broom to veer to the left throughout the entire game.
"Don't judge a broom by its paint, Malfoy," he whispered under his breath.
If he was lucky, Hermione would talk to Ron, and they would enter Gryffindor Tower that night as an official couple.
************************************************************************
"Hi Ron," Hermione said cheerfully, causing him to stare. She had just been ignoring him all through dinner. Now here she was, happily greeting him like they were chirpy first years. Huh? He wondered.
"Um, hi," he said, very articulately.
"I found out that I know more shortcuts than Harry," she burbled. "Who would've thought?" In truth, Hermione was nervous. It was one thing to feel brave when she was talking to Harry. It was another to actually confess her feelings to Ron Weasley, in person. It seemed like it was all happening too fast. . .the picture Harry had painted now seemed too good to be true. Failure seemed so much more likely here than in the library. And Hermione didn't like to fail.
"Amazing," Ron said dryly. Hermione's grin faltered. "Oh, come on. You can't expect me to just play along, now that you're through being mad at me." Hermione's eyes turned cold.
"If that's how you feel about it. . ." she started to get up. Ron stuffed mashed potatoes into his mouth, determined to ignore her, but at the last minute, he chickened out.
"Wai'," he managed to get out around his potatoes. Much to his dismay, a large chunk fell out of his mouth and onto his plate. Whirling back around, Hermione caught this and started laughing loudly. Ron cleared his throat. "I mean, wait."
Hermione continued laughing. "Honestly Ron! Hungry, aren't we! No need to stuff yourself!" She gasped out. Already blushing, Ron turned even redder.
"Fine then." He pushed his plate away from him, and this time it was Ron pretending to leave.
"No, don't go," Hermione said a bit more seriously. "I had something to ask you. . . .or, well, tell you, maybe. . . ."
Ron looked at her quizzically. Were his eyes deceiving him, or did Hermione Granger actually look nervous? "What?" he asked.
Hermione looked down at the floor, and then at Ron's shoe under the table. "Er. . .well, it's just that. . .Harry was saying. . . oh, who am I kidding, I can't do this," she whispered the last part to herself. Unfortunately, Ron heard her.
"Do what?" Now his curiosity was aroused more than ever. Hermione looked up at him, her expression rather pained.
"Harry said. . . that you like me and I like you," she said in a rush. Ron, whose blush had faded, turned distinctly scarlet.
"Bloody idiot, I'll get him," he muttered, before turning to Hermione. He put on a false bright face. "Well, you didn't believe him, did you? I mean, we all know that I don't like you, and you don't like me, I mean, come on, we argue all the time, it's like, common knowledge, so, where's the confusion? Because it quite obviously is NOT true." Actually, it was quite obvious that it WAS.
Hermione's eyes turned glassy once again. "Yeah. . ." she said softly. "I knew that. I was just. . .making sure, you know. . .I suppose I'd better get up to bed." With that, she rushed out of the Great Hall and up her dormitory, where she flung herself down on her bed and cried.
************************************************************************
Harry was polishing the handle of his Firebolt when a sudden thought occurred to him.
If Hermione and Ron were a couple, he would be a third wheel.
Lovely.
How pleasant.
He could've smacked himself. Bloody pathetic idiot you are, Harry Potter, he mentally berated himself. He didn't want to lose his two best friends, especially not to each other!
Then again, on the other hand, it was quite obvious that they were totally head over heels for each other, and it would be best for everyone if they just ADMITTED it.
So what was his problem?
************************************************************************
That was NOT supposed to go like that, Ron told himself furiously. It always happened this way. He got really close to telling Hermione how he felt about her, and then at the last minute, he chickened out and, not entirely on purpose, managed to get her completely angry with him.
Call him multi-talented, but Ron Weasley felt like an idiot.
Dejectedly, he pushed his mashed potatoes around his plate with his fork. What was he supposed to do now? Sit here all night so he didn't have to face Hermione or Harry? Harry. . . .
He had told! He told Hermione! Ron growled under his breath. Thanks loads, Harry, he said sarcastically in his head. What a mess. At he had someone besides himself to be angry with now.
Ron decided to brave the common room to get to his dormitory, where he was going to yell at Harry and then go to sleep. What a day. What a bloody awful day.
************************************************************************
A/N: Well, that wasn't as long as I would've like it to be, but it had to end there, because A) it was a good stopping point, and B) I need to do my homework. Bloody homework! That's the reason I haven't posted in a while, stupid science project. . .I got about four hours of sleep a night for the past three weeks, it's finally caught up to me. I got really weird today, cos I'm so tired. I hope it didn't affect my writing.
About my writing. . .ahem. Well, I tried my hardest to keep Harry, Ron, and especially Hermione in character. It was hard, I still don't know if I succeeded, especially Hermione and Harry's little discussion. I would really love it if you would review and tell me if I kept them in character, or if they are totally unrecognizable!