Chapter Twelve -- Fighting

It was a bleak morning. Hermione and Ron were still not talking. Opposite as it normally was, Hermione was madder at Ron than he was at her. He had actually tried a few times to apologize, but she would just sigh in a frustrated manner and growl, "Ron, be quiet. Don't talk to me," which caused Harry to be in a tight spot. He, in some respects, thought Ron was right: Hermione did tend to not give a hoot about his happiness. But he also thought she was protecting him, which Ron didn't seem too worried about. So, since he was clearly stuck, he just sat down at the Gryffindor table first, let whoever wanted to sit next to him that day do so, and chat mostly with Ginny Weasley about the day's events: Quidditch, classes, and if they got to be alone, he would secretly tell her a dream.

He never told Dumbledore about the dream of Kotu. He was too ashamed and frightened. Though Ginny had made a good point that his dreams never had led him wrong, he just didn't seem to think it could be true. It seemed so unreal, that he just couldn't bring himself to accept it.

And as if that wasn't all he had to worry about, Lupin was supposed to go on trial soon. Harry was unable to eat breakfast, causing lectures from Hermione.

"Harry, just half a bagel!"

"I'm not hungry."

Ron frowned. "You know, you've been really pale lately. Are you sure you're okay?"

Harry nodded, but suspected that he was only saying that so Hermione would agree and they would have something in common once again. But instead, Hermione just seemed to ignore his comment.

"Harry, you don't look well. Are you okay?"

Throwing down his fork for his scrambled eggs and standing, Ron yelled, "That's it, Hermione! Why can't you just get over what I've said? I'm not mad at you anymore! I'm the one being mature, while you're acting like a stubborn child!"

Harry sat openmouthed, staring at Ron.

Hermione did not even blink before saying plainly, "Sit down, Ron. You're just embarrassing yourself. You look stupid. You have eggs falling out of your mouth."

"She's right, you know," Ginny piped up.

"OF COURSE SHE IS!" Ron screamed, the Hall quieting a bit to watch the fight. "She's always right! No one else can ever be right if Hermione disagrees with them. Well you know what? I am right! You are wrong, Hermione!" and with that, he stood and left in a huff.

Hermione turned back to Harry, after everyone's conversations had begun again.

"What did I do? It's him, right? Not me?"

Harry shook his head. "He's actually right! You are being immature about all this. Why can't you just accept his apology, and move on?"

"Harry," Ginny warned, watching Hermione's face get red, "I wouldn't go there...."

"Why? Why?! Because he's so completely idiotic and stupid, that I honestly don't want to put up with it anymore. He's pathetic! That's why!"

"You're talking about my best friend!" Harry said, his voice rising. "You're not being Miss Wonderful yourself, you know."

"Oh, God! Is this Everyone-Beat-Up-On-Hermione-Day?" Hermione shook her head. "I'm doing what I think best for myself. If that's wrong--"

"It is!" Harry said, standing just as Ron had, but his voice quiet. He leaned over the table, his long torso allowing him to almost touch Hermione's nose. He pointed a finger at her, and said harshly in a quiet tone, "If you weren't so blind, you'd realize that you have feelings for him. You may have book smarts, Hermi, but when it comes to friendship and love, you haven't a clue."

Gaping at Harry, Hermione tried hard not to scream with frustration right then and there, in front of the entire school. But it was Harry who walked out, leaving Hermione to gape in his wake.

"You don't think he's right, do you?" Hermione asked Ginny who was avoiding Hermione's eyes.

"Well...er..." she hesitated before bravely saying, "Yes! Yes I do think he's right!"

"No offence, Gin, but I do not have a thing for your brother."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, come off it! You do so! You know, you two already fight like an old married couple! Might as well go the whole nine yards."

Hermione let out a squeal of frustration, which caused some Gryffindors to eye her suspiciously. "I'll ask Dean! He'll see that Ron is just too full of himself!" She turned to a masticating Dean, who hadn't said anything. "Well? What do you have to say?"

"Marry the poor bloke."

Pulling on her frizzy hair, Hermione stood up and left, leaving Dean and Ginny to watch her sadly.

"You know, this just proves that love is blind," Dean sighed.

Ginny could only nod.

^*^*^

"You know, I said it five years ago, and I'm saying it again: She's a nightmare, honestly! No wonder she hasn't got any friends!"

Sighing, Harry said, "But she does have friends. Remember? You and me? And Ginny and Dean.... She and Draco also seem to be getting along quite well."

Ron snorted. "That's not much to be proud of, is it? You know I still don't trust him."

"He did save my life, and yours. Why can't you admit that he's a good guy?"

"Because he's not," Ron flatly said. "I just got my suspic--We're not talking about that! Don't try to change the subject!"

Ginny walked in, hearing Ron's last statement. "You sound like Daddy yelling at Fred and George," she giggled.

"Shove off, Gin. I'm too angry for jokes." He turned back to Harry. "Can't you admit she's acting like her old shelf? For a while, I thought she was getting to be pretty cool. She had relaxed the whole, 'I'm the good one' routine and started to be fun. Now, she's just....ARGH!" He growled as Hermione walked into the room, holding various books. "You see that, Harry? She hasn't walked in here with those books for a while. Now look! She's just like she was our first year: a rude, snotty little brat!"

Hermione opened her mouth to object, but suddenly closed it, avoided both Ron's and Harry's eyes, and ran up the spiral stairs.

"Same to you, show-off!" Ron screamed, just before her door slammed. "Harry, I think I hate her."

Harry just bit his lip, did some quick decision-making, and decided to run up the stairs. He went to Hermione's door, knocked, and frowned when Lavender opened.

"Hi," he said. "Can I speak with Hermione?"

Lavender turned to look at Hermione's bed, which had its drapes drawn. She stepped out of the doorframe and closed the door behind her. "She's really upset, Harry. What on earth happened?"

"She and Ron..." he began.

Lavender held up a hand. "Say no more.  What did he do this time?"

Harry smiled. "What didn't he do? To be honest, it wasn't just him. It's my fault too." Lavender's mouth dropped and he laughed. "I know, I know. Shocking, right? Anyway, can you just tell her that I need to speak with her?"

Lavender nodded. "Certainly. I just hope that she isn't too upset." She walked into the dormitory, and Harry heard her say, "Oh, come on, Hermione! Don't be stupid. Won't you just talk with him?" Muttering. "Go on, go on! Would you like a written invitation? You're being stupid. Just *go*!"

A stubborn Hermione suddenly appeared in front of Harry, eyes red and wet.

"What?" she almost yelled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She stared at him for a moment, then suddenly threw her arms around him and cried, "Oh Harry!" and cried on his shoulder.

He blinked at her and smiled. "Feeling okay?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not okay!" She forced herself to calm down a bit, then said, "Can we go somewhere private, where Parvati can't spy on us?"

He nodded. "Sure," he said sweetly, taking her hand and leading her past an infuriated Ron. Harry could have sworn he heard Ron mutter, "Traitor!" as he and Hermione left the common room.

"Where to?" Harry asked, allowing Hermione to pick their place of secrecy.

Hermione stood outside the Fat Lady's portrait, thoughtful, until she replied, "The lake, I suppose. It's chilly, so we know no one will be out there."

Nodding, Harry complied and said, "Okay. But can I get a sweater first?"

"Of course."

"You need anything?" he asked, as he turned to the Fat Lady. "I can ask Lavender or someone to get it for you."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I think I'll be alright. I've got a sweater under my cloak."

"Okay," Harry said, turning to the Fat Lady who was rather upset he had bothered to go out of the common room at all. He hopped in to see Ginny glaring back at him when he emerged.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Harry didn't know what to answer. "I-I've talked to Ron, and now I'm talking to Hermione. I'm going to sort this all out."

Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry. This isn't your fault. You cannot make them forgive each other. They need to fix this on their own. Ron!" she exclaimed, turning to see a tall Weasley pacing in front of the fireplace. "Someone would like to see you outside."

"Who?" he snapped, causing Ginny to glare harder.

"Professor McGonagall. I believe there is a problem with your last test."

Clearly believing his innocent little sister, Ron walked past Harry and stepped out of the portrait hole to see Hermione blink back at him.

"Oh no!" he said, holding up his fingers into a cross. "I'm not doing this!"

Hermione growled. "I didn't ask Harry to bring you out here! Where is he? We were going to go down to the lake-"

"Oh, a date?" Ron sneered, his hands clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists. "Shall I get you two some wine and a violinist? Or would you prefer to be completely and utterly alone?"

"RON, BE QUIET!" Hermione exploded, her angry voice echoing off the walls. "I am so sick of this!" She sighed. "Why are we even fighting?"

Ron put up his hands and shook his head. "Oh, no! Don't you start that. I know *exactly* why we're fighting. Where to begin? Ah, yes. You claimed that I don't care if Harry is safe or not, just because I don't think he should have to go to Professor Longbottom every Friday night, and-"

"And *you* claimed that I don't care about his happiness, which is so untrue I don't know where to begin..."

"Why are you suddenly like such a mother? Honestly, you treat him like a little four-year-old!"

"In times like these, you can't be too sure what's going to happen to anyone, let alone someone like Harry."

Ron nodded and sighed. "I feel the same way. Just like, no matter what precautions we take, he's always in some sort of trouble."

Hermione suddenly started giggling, and Ron blinked. "What?"

"You sound like a father." Her face then changed from giggly to sad. "I bet if Lily and James were alive, they'd be saying the exact same things we are."

Ron smiled sadly. "Yeah..." he then smirked. "Only, we don't force Harry to eat his vegetables."

"Not yet, at least," Hermione said seriously, causing both to laugh. Then, while Ron was still laughing, Hermione sheepishly said, "I'm sorry," causing Ron to stop laughing completely.

He avoided her eyes, while uncomfortably saying, "Er, yeah...I'm sorry too."

Unable to restrain herself, Hermione suddenly had her arms around him, tightly, causing him to blush. She then let go just as quickly as she had grabbed him, and ran away in the direction of the library, leaving Ron to stand alone in the hall, blushing, and grinning broadly.

-AN- I dedicate this chapter to my buddies on my HermiRon listing. RHR forever, guys!-