Disclaimer: All these characters are the rightful property of J.K Rowling.

Chapter 3
"In which Ron has a hard time eating"


Ron opened his mouth and quickly closed it again. He could not for the life of him think of anything to say. They stared at each other, Hermione seemingly as speechless as he was himself. The unnatural silence lasted for a full minute before Hermione blushed and said, "For Pete's sake!" and stormed away.

This did NOT improve Ron's mood!

Ron stood in the hallway with his mouth open until he was interrupted by Ginny, who tapped him on the shoulder and asked sweetly, "Are you trying to catch flies, or are you thinking really hard?"

"Bug off," Ron mumbled halfheartedly. Normally he would be happy to get in a row with Ginny, but today he couldn't seem to put himself in the right state of mind.

Ginny looked at him critically for a few minutes. "What!" Ron finally burst out impatiently. "Do I have drool on my chin or something?"

"Has something happened with you and Hermione?" Ginny asked bluntly. Trust Ginny to be blunt. "She's been acting weird. And so are you, for that matter."

"I am NOT acting weird! I don't know why you have to be so nosy all the time. Besides, shouldn't you be in your room fixing yourself up? Harry's coming today, you know."

Ginny stared at him and Ron immediately felt sorry. She had not outwardly shown her crush for Harry in a really long time, and Ron did not think that anyone outside the family(and of course, Hermione) was aware she still felt the same. They had, by unspoken agreement, stopped teasing her about Harry long ago, she was just too sensitive about it.

"Ginny," he started awkwardly, "I'm sor...."

"Sod off," Ginny mumbled, her face now as red as his own. "I'm going to change for lunch," and she pushed by him into her room and slammed the door.

Ron groaned. He had certainly started the day off well.


Lunch was an uncomfortable affair. Ginny glared at him and Hermione did not speak to him at all. His dad and Percy were working already, and the twins were whispering amongst themselves, causing Mrs. Weasley to cast suspicious glances their way every few minutes. Fortunately, she seemed to preoccupied with them to notice the tension between the remaining members of the table.

Ron, for the first time since those years ago when he'd finally noticed that Hermione was in fact a GIRL, could not eat. He picked morosely at his food and spent the rest of the time alternating between pleading glances at Ginny and furtive glances at Hermione. Hermione kept her eyes down and Ginny was not taking the bait. If anything she glared at him more.
Ron sighed, hoping it would get either Ginny or Hermione to feel sorry for him, but nothing happened. So he sighed again, with more gusto. This time it attracted the attention of his mother who turned to him with a concerned face and inquired, "What's wrong, dear?"

Ron started. That had not been his plan. "Nothing, Mom," he said in as cheerful a voice as he could muster. "Just not hungry today, I guess,"

His mother's face went from concern to worry. "Are you sure you're alright, Ron? Maybe you should have a bit of a lie down."

Ron was about to say that wasn't at all what he needed, then thought better of it. This way he could hide in his room without his mother being suspicious. Then he wouldn't have to get up until Harry got here. Then Harry would come and talk to Hermione. Harry was always so good at helping things with him and Hermione. Then Ginny wouldn't be mad anymore. Harry always made her more chipper.

Ron jumped up in his chair. "Yes, that's just what I need, Mom!" he said and bolted out of the room. Just before he went out of earshot, he heard his mother say, "I don't know what's gotten into Ron these days. I wish he'd let me cut his hair. It's getting almost as silly as Bills."

Ron permitted himself a small smile. His mother was amusing sometimes.


After three hours, Ron was regretting his decision. He was BORED! And he hadn't eaten! What time was Harry getting here, anyway? Why was he sitting in his room like a coward?

"This is stupid," Ron said aloud to his mirror." We've gone through so much together already, we should be able to talk about this,"

"That's the spirit, sonny," his mirror said soothingly. With his mirror's words of encouragement (he'd had it for years, it had never stirred him wrong before) Ron tried in vain to smooth his spiky hair, and failing at that, stared at himself with a determined air. It was time to be an adult about this and talk to Hermione.



A/N Sorry about the long wait and rather boring chapter. It's all setting up for the next chapter, where they will talk, and, well, who knows? It will be along shortly, I've already started writing it. Thanks for the reviews!
And to the person who asked about Ginny and Hermione being in the same dorm, I'm sorry if I confused you. They're at the Burrow right a few weeks before scool starts