Title: Brewing Trouble
Rating: PG-13 (for mild language and slightly immature 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. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments, I really appreciate them!
Chapter 4 - Bloody Hell

Early-morning sunlight streamed through the curtains on the dorm windows, spreading like butter over Ron's bed. When he awoke, squinting in the brightness, he saw that Harry's bed was empty. Frowning, he rolled over to look in the other beds. Seamus and Dean were sound asleep, and Neville was snoring loudly, as usual. Ron slipped his arms into his dressing gown as he climbed out of bed and slipped out of the room.

"Psst! Ron!"

Ron spun around to find Hermione waving cheerily at him as she bounded down the stairs. "I won't be able to meet you for breakfast," she whispered, "I've arranged to meet with Professor Snape to discuss the upcoming lesson on Memory Potions and I'm running late."

Ron squinted at Hermione. It was quite early in the morning, but she was bright-eyed and pink-cheeked. Very pink-cheeked, in fact. "Bloody hell, Hermione," exclaimed Ron, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "Are you wearing makeup?"

Hermione sniffed and tossed her bushy hair. "Of course not," she scoffed, clutching her books to her chest. "Besides, is it a crime to want to look nice?" With that, she brushed past Ron and out of the Tower. Ron had no time to mull this over because no more than a moment had passed when Harry burst into the Common Room, panting loudly.
"Has she left yet?" he demanded, running up to Ron.

"What?" Ron asked. "Where were you?"

Harry patted his hair as he replied, "Getting some breakfast. I've got a muffin for Hermione." He held out a chocolate-chip muffin for Ron to see.

"Why are you bringing her a muffin?" Ron asked, his brow furrowed.

"I thought she might be hungry," Harry said, hurrying back to the portrait. "I'll see you later, Ron."

Ron stood in the middle of the Common Room in his dressing gown and pajamas, a very confused expression on his face. Harry and Hermione were both acting rather strangely - and Hermione was showing no signs of falling for him. Maybe the potion took quite a while to work, Ron thought hopefully. There was no other explanation. And as for Harry...well, Ron hadn't figured that out. He made a mental note to talk to his friend in double Potions, their first class.

"Get out parchment and quills." Professor Snape slammed open the door of the dungeon where Potions classes were held and stormed into the room, his black robes billowing. He rather reminded Ron of a storm cloud - menacing and ominous and always bringing lots of darkness to Ron's mood.

Ron pulled out a sheet of parchment. As Professor Snape began to talk, listing the ingredients in Memory Potions, Ron leaned over to Harry, who was on his right, and whispered, "Have you seen any change in Hermione yet?"

Harry never took his eyes off Snape as he whispered back, "She looks better and better each time I see her."

Ron frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Hermione," Harry said, his voice taking on a dreamy quality. "She looks more beautiful and vibrant each time I see her." He sighed, starry-eyed.

"What are you playing at?" Ron demanded a little more loudly than he'd intended. Lavender Brown turned around to stare at him and Snape paused in his lecture, his eyes narrowing.

"It seems that Mr. Weasley has something more important to talk about than Memory Potions," he said bitterly, "Ten points from Gryffendor."

"What?" Ron exclaimed indignantly, practically leaping out of his chair. Hermione, seated on his other side, grabbed the sleeve of his robes and yanked him back down. He glared at her, but she was already completely focused on Professor Snape, who had moved on with the lesson. Ron shook his head and jammed his quill into his bottle of ink. The day was not getting off to a good start.

Things did not improve throughout Potions. The notes were long, and Ron twice caught Hermione playing with her hair or crossing her legs whenever Snape paced near their table. When they'd finally finished their notes on Memory Potions, it was time to actually brew the potion, and as Ron hadn't been paying attention to a word Snape had said, he didn't know where to begin.

"Harry, what comes first?" Ron asked, lifting two flasks of brightly colored liquid, one scarlet and one blue. "I must have missed this part."

Harry shrugged and dumped an entire bowl of dandelion roots into their cauldron. He sighed again and leaned over Ron to gaze at Hermione. Ron pinched him.

"Snap out of it, you," he hissed, uneasily watching Harry watch Hermione, who was humming to herself as she stirred her bubbling potion. "Oi! Hermione!" he whispered. "Which of these comes first?"

"You should have been paying attention," Hermione said virtuously, tapping a bit of a white powder into her cauldron. "Professor Snape clearly gave us directions. He's such a brilliant teacher," she said, smiling to herself. Ron looked at her with a mixture of horror and bewilderment on his face.

"We hate him, Hermione, remember?" he said. "He's a malicious, unfair - " and he called Snape a word that made Hermione gasp with indignation.

"You just don't like him because he caught you talking," she said huffily, turning her back on Ron. "*I* think he's brilliant."

"Yeah, you said that already," Ron grumbled, turning back to his cauldron. Harry, whom he'd assumed was working on the potion while he talked to Hermione, was, in fact, seated at the table and sketching a girl with long hair and a wand. "What the bloody hell is that?" Ron poked a finger at Harry's drawing.

"Nothing." Harry folded the sketch and slipped it into the pocket of his robes. Ron rolled his eyes
.
Finally, it was time for lunch. Ron was the first one out of the dungeon doors and was halfway down the hall before he realized he was alone. He slowly walked back to the Potions classroom and poked his head in the door. Hermione was chatting with Professor Snape, her books cradled in one arm as she twirled a strand of hair with another. Harry was slowly gathering together his things while watching Professor Snape with a very sour expression.

"Come on, come on," Ron said, stacking Harry's books for him and shoved them into his friend's arms. Hermione finished her conversation with Snape, and the trio strolled out of the dungeon and up the stairs. When they got to the Great Hall, they took three seats at the end of the table, away from everyone else, and dug into their shepherd's pie.

"Wasn't the Potions lesson interesting?" Hermione asked gaily, swirling her fork in her pie.

"Captivating." Ron said dryly, stabbing a carrot much harder than necessary.

"I think Hermione's captivating." Harry said. When both Hermione and Ron turned to stare at him, his cheeks turned pink and he focused on his lunch.

"You're acting rather strange, Harry," Ron said tightly, feeling his ears turn red as Hermione blushed and dropped her fork on the floor. Before she could lean to pick it up, Harry dove under the table and emerged a few seconds later with her fork.

"Er, thanks," Hermione said. "I'll just take that, then." She plucked the fork from Harry's fingers and laid it on the table as Harry took his seat again, glancing smugly at Ron. Ron sighed loudly.

"Anyone sitting here?" Ginny Weasley asked, plopping into the chair across from Harry. She picked up her silverware and flashed Harry a bright smile before beginning to eat. "Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Harry, this is so good - you have to try it!" She scooped a small piece of her shepherd's pie onto her fork and held it across the table for Harry to taste. After a moment of hesitation, Harry opened his mouth, and Ginny fed him the pie. Ron and Hermione, watching in disbelief, simply sat in silence as Harry nodded and wiped his mouth with his napkin. Ginny sat back in her chair, satisfaction written all over her face.

Now, thought Ron, I know for sure something is up - usually, Ginny couldn't even string two words together when Harry's around, and now she was feeding him like a little lapdog.

"Oh!" As Professor Snape walked by the Great Hall, Hermione threw down her napkin and leapt out of her chair, nearly falling on her face when the sleeve of her robe caught the finial on her chair. She regained her footing and sprinted out of the Hall after Professor Snape.

"What's got her flipped out?" Ginny asked, lazily reclining in her chair, her legs crossed.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Ron said, shaking his head for what seemed to him to be the millionth time that day. "If you find out, you'll let me know?" He was about to make a cutting remark to Harry, who was staring stupidly at the door, when Draco Malfoy strolled up to the Gryffendor table.

"Get lost, Malfoy," Ron spat. Malfoy's face twisted into an expression of contempt as he sneered at Ron and took Hermione's chair and turned towards Ginny.

"I apologize for my comment at dinner last night, Ginny," Malfoy said, his icy gray eyes softening and his voice suddenly losing all arrogance and malice and sounding - could it be? - downright friendly. He reached out a long, pale hand, and patted Ginny's hand.

"I was in a horrid mood," Malfoy continued, "Let me make it up to you. How about a picnic tonight in the Astronomy Tower?"

Ginny recoiled, yanking her hand away from Malfoy's and standing up so quickly she nearly knocked over her chair. "How dare you come onto me, Malfoy?" she hissed, "How dare you when I'm so obviously involved with Harry?"
"What?" Malfoy spat.

"WHAT?" Ron shouted. He, too, leapt from his chair and, grabbing Ginny's arm, hauled her out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a dumbfounded Harry and an incensed Malfoy. When they got into the corridor, Ginny pulled her arm out of Ron's grip and glared at him.

"How could you humiliate me like that?" she cried, crossing her arms over her chest. "You embarrassed me in front of Harry!"

"Bloody hell, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. "We all knew you fancied Harry, but I didn't know it'd got this far - you're delusional!"

"You're so cruel!" Ginny wailed, suddenly bursting into tears. "Why can't you be happy for us? He's your best friend, you should be happy he's found someone to love."

"BUT HE HASN'T!" Ron bellowed, shaking his sniffling sister by the shoulders. "You're making a fool of yourself, Ginny! Harry's not in love with you, any more than - "

"Hermione's in love with you?" Ginny shot back nastily. She smirked through her tears, knowing she'd hit a nerve.

"You're acting most unlike yourself, Ginny," Ron said weakly, his anger replaced by hurt. "Behaving like a - a scarlet woman around Harry...hollering at me..."

"You hollered at me first, and I didn't say anything you didn't already know." Ginny said delicately. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish my lunch with Harry." And with that, she flounced back into the Great Hall. Ron, however, slid down to the floor, leaning against the cool wall of the corridor. WHAT was going on? Everyone was going mad, and he knew it wasn't his imagination.

It will get better, Ron told himself tiredly, you'll go to Transfiguration and then to the Tower and you'll go to bed early and everything will be normal tomorrow. With only his pitiful plan keeping him from banging his head against the wall, Ron pulled himself to his feet and set off for Transfiguration.
A/N: But what will happen in Transfiguration? Ron's troubles are only beginning! : )