Title: Brewing Trouble
Rating: PG-13 (for mild language and mature themes)
Summary: Ron decides a love potion is the only way to make Hermione fall for him, and mayhem ensues when the effects of the potion go awry.
Disclaimer: The plot of this story is mine, but everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Please review - feedback means a lot to me!

Chapter 3 - The Dinner

Now, all Ron could do was wait. Instead of lounging lazily by the pond or playing a low-key game of Quidditch with Fred and George, he paced the fifth year boys' dormitory, anxiously wringing his hands and muttering to himself as the afternoon dragged on.

"Fancy a game of Exploding Snap, Ron?" Neville Longbottom asked cheerily, poking his head into the dorm.

"No thanks, Neville," Ron said uninterestedly, throwing himself into an armchair.

"Are you sure?" Neville asked. "I won't be able to singe my eyebrows off this time." Ron glanced at the two bare spots above Neville's eyes and smothered a laugh.

"I'm fine, Neville, thanks." Ron replied. Neville trotted out of the dorm as Harry walked in.

"How about a game of Wizard's Chess?" Harry asked, perching on the bed beside Ron.

"No thanks," Ron said. "I can't concentrate on anything - I'm too nervous about tonight."

"You have to relax," Harry said, patting his friend's arm. "Dinner's in an hour and if you keep on like this, I don't think you'll make it."

Harry eventually left the dorm, unable to calm Ron in the least, and Ron was left alone with his thoughts again. How would Hermione react to the potion? Would she be aware that she was bewitched? How long would it be before the potion took effect? What if, even with the potion, she still thought of him as her friend?

You have to stop thinking, a voice in Ron's head exclaimed, Harry was right; you're going to drive yourself completely mad. Agitatedly, Ron leaned over to his trunk and pulled out the pink spellbook. He flipped through the book, glancing at pictures of moony witches and wizards gazing gooey-eyed at one another. He shook his head - you're mad already, he thought.

Finally, the clock struck six, and Ron bounded down the stairs, colliding with another body that was hurrying into the Common Room. Ron reached out to steady whoever it was and found himself face to face with Hermione. He quickly realized he had an arm around her waist and let go of her so quickly she nearly fell over.

"You're going to make a habit of doing this, then?" Hermione asked teasingly, nudging Ron with her elbow.
"Um. What?" Ron felt color creeping up his neck.

"Running into me - literally. You've done it twice just today," Hermione explained as they walked together out of Gryffendor Tower and down the hall with the other students.

"Um, yeah. No." Ron gulped. "I think you're the one who's always running into me," he said, recovering some of his composure.

"Whatever." Hermione grinned. "I'm so hungry - I hope there are some more of those battered chicken wings at dinner tonight. They were delicious last night."

"Yeah, I liked those too," Ron said as they entered the Great Hall. The ceiling was a mass of orange, yellow, and purple swirls - outside Hogwarts, the sun just beginning to set behind the hills and the sky was alive with vibrant colors. Ron sat down beside Harry at the Gryffendor table, and Hermione sat across from them. Once everyone was gathered together, Professor Dumbledore waved a hand from his seat at the front of the Hall, and the tables were laden with food. Platters of chicken and pork were scattered among bowls of whipped potatoes, corn, and stewed carrots, and tureens of soup and gravy. Ron, Harry, and Hermione helped themselves to a little bit of everything and began to eat.

Ron lifted a forkful of roasted pork to his mouth and paused, the fork hovering by his chin. Hermione was daintily blotting her lips with a napkin and reaching for her goblet. Ron nearly dropped his fork as he kicked Harry under the table. The two of them watched carefully as Hermione took a sip from her goblet, set it back on the table, and cut herself another slice of roasted pork, setting it neatly beside her mound of potatoes and gravy.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. Hermione obviously hadn't noticed anything funny in her goblet, as she was eating and drinking with gusto, visibly pleased to be back at school. Ron wiped his forehead with his napkin and turned his attention to his dinner.

"Good carrots, eh, Harry?" he said, spooning himself more stewed carrots. Harry nodded slowly. He was staring into space, trailing his spoon absently through his food, leaving little trails of gravy all around his plate.

"All right, Harry?" Ron asked, looking a little more closely at his friend. Harry gave himself a shake and turned back to his dinner.

"Fine, just fine," he replied, reaching for the gravy boat.

The rest of dinner went by uneventfully. Ginny Weasley did spill her goblet of pumpkin juice down her front, and she turned a brilliant shade of scarlet when Draco Malfoy, the spiteful and malevolent fifth year that remained Harry's nemesis, shouted mockingly at her from the Slytherin table.

"Don't mind him, Ginny," Harry called to her from down the table, seeing her distress. "Malfoy doesn't know the first thing about good manners."

Ginny flashed Harry a grateful smile before going an even deeper shade of red and quickly turning back to her meal. Ron chuckled and took a long drink of pumpkin juice.

Dessert passed equally uneventfully, and the trio of friends stuffed themselves with trifle and treacle tart. They all ate just as well as they had at the feast the night before.

"I think I'm about to burst!" Hermione said, her hand on her stomach. "I think I'm going to go to back to the Common Room and read - Madame Pince got a new book over the summer about the evolution of the broomstick. I think it sounds positively fascinating."

"Sounds positively mind-numbing," said Ron. He and Harry both rose to follow Hermione back to Gryffendor Tower, unable to eat another bite.

As they walked through the halls, Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered, "D'you think the potion's taken affect yet, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "Give it a while," he said, "We'll see in the morning."

Hermione stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Billywig." Hermione said, and the portrait swung open. She climbed into the Common Room and turned to face the boys. "I'm going to bed. I'll meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast before classes start?"

Harry and Ron nodded. "Sleep tight," Ron added as Hermione climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm room. When she disappeared from view, he stretched and yawned.

"Believe it or not, I think I'm going to turn in too," he said, "All this worrying has got me exhausted."
"I think I'm going to stay up for a while," Harry said, sitting down in an armchair beside Lavender Brown, who was looking intently at a book on palmistry.

"All right. I'll see you later," Ron said, leaving Harry curled up in the chair. He slowly climbed the stairs and opened the door to the boys' dorm. It was empty - he'd seen his other roommates, Neville, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnigan, clustered around the chessboard in the Common Room, and he knew they wouldn't go to bed until very late, especially if Neville decided he wouldn't stop playing until he'd won a game. Like magic, chess was not something Neville particularly excelled at.

"Oh well, more time for me," Ron said sleepily, shuffling over to his bed. He changed into his striped pajamas, tossing his clothes into his open trunk. As he pulled back the blanket and bedcovers, he paused. Then he turned and left the dormitory. He walked down the hall and into the girl's wing. Before he could lose his nerve, he rapped on the fifth year girls' door.

After a minute, Hermione opened the door. Like Ron, she was the only one that had decided to go to bed, although Ron could see her library book, her Potions text, and some parchment sitting on the floor of the empty dorm room. Meanwhile, Hermione was tapping her slippered foot, an expression of impatience on her face.

"Do you need something, Ron?" she asked, pulling her robe more tightly around her body.

"No, nothing," Ron said, "Just wanted to...say good night again."

"Good night." Hermione said, a note of confusion in her voice. She smiled uneasily at Ron and gently closed the door. Ron turned around and went back to his room. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. This is the last time I'll go to sleep without Hermione knowing how I feel about her, he thought, snuggling into bed. Then he felt silly for thinking something so sappy, and that was the last thought he had before he drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Poor unsuspecting Ron...he has no idea what he's in for when he wakes up. Thanks for the reviews, everyone, I hope you liked this chapter!