A/N: I know it's been about a week, but school and work and a bunch of other stuff keeps distracting me. Once I get through with this little part of the story, I will hopefully be able to post more regularly because I have a lot of stuff already written. Please remember to leave feedback and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here, of course...

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The next morning's breakfast brought several ducked heads and avoided gazes. None of the trio really had too much to say to anyone. There was awkwardness between Ron and Hermione, of course, due to the fact that they'd ended their date with so much pent up tension. And there was also the little fact that they'd almost and actually would have kissed if the storm hadn't stopped them. And while that went on there, Harry himself was feeling quite awkward. He wasn't looking in Ginny's direction, and he had no real urge to look in the twins' direction, either. He had the least urge to look at his best friend, though, because he wasn't sure if Ron had seen him dancing with Ginny or not, but he was willing to bet that if he had, he definitely wasn't too happy about it.

He was right.

Ron, while carefully avoiding Hermione's eye, kept stealing glances down the table at his little sister. He was silently studying her, as if he was trying his damnedest to see any difference in her morning routine. As if noticing a difference in the way she ate her eggs would give him a clear view of just exactly what had gone on between herself and his own best friend. He wanted to know, but he definitely was not going to ask Harry because he half-expected himself to haul off and punch Harry across the nose if the subject was ever to come up between the two of them. For once, he was thinking logically and figuring that keeping the peace was a much better plan than flying off the handle.

It wasn't until Divination that the subject of the previous night's ball came up. Everyone was pretty tired from the ball, and Professor Trelawney, while she may have been extremely annoying, also happened to be one of those teachers who was sensitive to such things and decided to take it easy on her lessons that day. She said that a drowsy mind was the same as a clouded one, and it would just be a much better bet if they were to all rest and just take the period as a free hour, so long as they stayed in the classroom and relatively quiet.

Parvati spent the hour conversing in private with the Divination teacher about something Harry was sure he did not want to know about. Seamus and Lavender found an empty corner and were having what was quite obviously a very amusing conversation, seeing as Lavender kept giggling shrilly every few seconds and Seamus kept beaming nonstop. Neville and Dean were both lounging with their heads on their desks and their eyes closed. Harry was tempted to follow suit, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he finally decided that he wanted to know what had transpired the night before between his two best friends, and if that meant he would have to disclose the fact that he'd greatly enjoyed Ginny's company, then so be it.

Twisting round in his chair to face his redheaded best friend, he yawned and then brought up the subject. "So, did you have a good time last night?"

Ron mirrored the yawn; it was a natural reaction. Shrugging in what he obviously thought was a very nonchalant manner, he said, "Yeah, I suppose so."

Harry nodded slowly. "Hermione must have, too."

Ron instantly looked up and became more attentive. "Did she say anything to you about it?"

Amused, Harry shook his head. "No, I could just tell she was having fun because she actually looked like she was thinking about something besides school for once."

It was hard to tell whether Ron looked relieved or disappointed. His answer was a simple, "Oh."

Not having been fed the desired information yet, Harry pressed on. "Well, I noticed you guys disappeared after awhile." He didn't ask a question, but he clearly left himself open for an answer.

"We went for a walk, and then it started raining. So, we just went back up to the tower after that."

A walk? Well, that was certainly interesting. "Where did you go? To the terrace?"

Ron sighed and shook his head, obviously annoyed at all the questioning. "No. If you must know, we went into the forest to a little pond that Hermione knew about."

"You went into the forest?" Harry's mouth was slightly open. "With Hermione?"

Ron scowled at the bespectacled boy. "Yeah, so? I'm surprised you even noticed, seeing as how you were so wrapped up in my baby sister." His voice was daring, challenging Harry to question him again.

Inwardly groaning, Harry did his best to look nonplussed. "I wasn't wrapped up in anything," he declared matter-of-factly. "Ginny and I danced for a little while. So, what?"

"So, what?" Ron repeated incredulously. "You stand in the middle of a crowded room and grope my baby sister, and you ask me so, what?!"

His siblings hadn't been exaggerating when they'd said that Ron was the drama king of the Weasley clan. He simply had a way of over-reacting to any situation. Harry stared in half-shock at his best friend and processed the accusation. Finally, he let his initial reaction take over, and he laughed. He laughed out loud at the stupidity of that statement. As Ron glared at him, he finally sobered up and rolled his eyes. "Are you fucking serious?" he asked wide-eyed. When Ron continued to glare, Harry rolled his eyes again. "First of all, you don't have a baby sister- not yet anyway. Ginny is only eleven months younger than you, or have you forgotten that? And second of all, I did not 'grope' her as you so adequately put it. I danced with her because she asked me to. Colin got sick, and Lavender got tonsillitis, if you know what I mean. So, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal," Ron answered darkly, "is the fact that Ginny is my sister!"

"And?!" Harry couldn't quite believe he was having this conversation. "This is stupid! This whole bloody topic is stupid. We were dancing; it was a ball, and we danced. It's not like I asked her to marry me!"

Ron suddenly appeared quite outraged, and his voice rose slightly. "You know how she is, Harry! You know that she likes you, and you know how gullible she is when it comes to things." The wordless mention of Second Year was well heard. "And you're just playing with her emotions!"

This was too much. Harry was simply not in the mood to put up with Ron's childish argument, so he cut straight to the chase. "Oh, you mean the way you've been playing with Hermione's emotions for two years now?"

Ron was silent for a long moment as he glared darkly at his best friend. Finally, he calmly said, "And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, don't play stupid, Ron," Harry said sardonically. "You know perfectly well what I mean. One minute you're defending her and the next you're insulting her. One minute you're telling her a joke and the next you're yelling at her! No wonder she hasn't responded to any of it yet... She probably doesn't know whether you want to argue with her or snog her!"

The mention of kissing drew several heads in their direction. Both Neville and Dean woke up enough to turn and watch the brewing row between the best friends, and Parvati tore her eyes away from Trelawney's crystal ball long enough to witness what was sure to be a good gossip topic. Only Lavender and Seamus seemed too preoccupied to listen in on Harry and Ron's now not- so-private conversation.

Ron was silent for a long moment, and both he and Harry were painfully aware of the small audience they'd acquired. In a much quieter, much tighter tone, Ron spoke directly to his best friend, his face burning all the while. "Shut up, Harry."

But Harry wasn't having any of it. He was still angry that Ron had tried to turn an innocent dance with Ginny into something far more meaningful and far more scandalous. And he was also angry that Ron had just accused him of playing with Ginny's emotions when he'd done absolutely nothing of the sort. Not bothering to match Ron's quiet and controlled tone, he answered. "No! You can't keep denying it because everyone knows now! Except for you maybe, but then again, you've always been pretty thick when it comes to figuring out the obvious."

His words had been cruel, and the hurt showed up immediately on Ron's face. Harry felt bad, but he was now so angry he couldn't stand it. He wasn't even sure why he was so furious, but it just seemed like a dam had broken, and Harry finally had the chance to take out a ton of pent-up aggression. At his best friend's stake, nonetheless. Ron was now clutching the corner of the desk so tightly that his knuckles were turning white; he was praying silently for Harry to just shut up- for both of their sakes.

Harry didn't get the prayer, though; he went right on. "So, from now on, why don't you just focus on your own non-existent love life and stay the hell out of mine?"

Even Seamus and Lavender looked up in time to see everything fall apart. Ron had simply had too much, and he made this fact quite clear the second his fist connected with the nose of his so-called best friend.

Gasps filled the air from their classmates as Harry, so taken off-guard, fell over backwards in his chair. The pain shooting through his face was nothing compared to the intense feeling of disgust he felt at that moment. Clutching his nose to stop any blood that might want to fall, Harry stared up at Ron for only a second before jumping to his feet and glaring. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

Ron gave no verbal answer. He simply got to his own feet and made his much bigger frame painfully obvious. Apparently, though, Harry, the Boy-Who-Had- Faced-Death-Countless-Times-And-Still-Managed-To-Live, was not at all intimidated. With the same force that Ron had used moments before, Harry swung his own punch, and the fight began. One of the girls screamed, but it was impossible to tell which one. The whole class was basically in shock as the two teenagers who had been the absolute best of friends for the past five years took out all of their aggression on the other's face. They had tumbled to the ground and were rolling around in what was a mix of fists and loud swears. There was blood on both of their faces, but neither of them was showing any sign of stopping the fight at any time soon.

Professor Trelawney had jumped to her feet and was clasping a hand to her open mouth in shock. Harry glanced this and briefly figured that she'd convinced herself she'd predicted the fight weeks ago and was congratulating herself on yet another correct prediction. He didn't dwell on this thought, though, because a much more important task was at hand.

Beating the shit or at least attempting to beat the shit out of his long- time best friend. Harry wasn't even quite sure why they were fighting, but he really didn't care. It felt inexplicably good to be able to take his aggressions out on something besides himself. He and Ron had never physically fought before, and, in truth, Harry hadn't really fought with anyone except for Dudley; that, of course, couldn't really be considered fighting because Dudley had always ordered someone to hold Harry down while he used his face as a punching bag. But despite the fact that Ron was quite a bit larger than he was, Harry was holding his own quite nicely, and he was sure he had all that pent-up aggression to thank for this miracle.

Fists continued to swing and insults continued to be hurled until Harry felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and forcefully pull him off the ground and to his feet. The moment he was removed from the fight, he noticed the pain that was crowding his face, but he didn't care. Seamus had him from behind and was holding him off until Dean managed to restrain Ron long enough to calm both of the fighters down.

Seamus was the first to speak. "What the fuck was that?!"

Harry shrugged away from the Irish boy, scowling the whole time but offering no explanation. He didn't look at Ron, but he didn't hear any answer coming from his direction, either. Professor Trelawney came hurrying over, looking quite disgusted that someone had dared to disturb the peaceful energies of her classroom.

Glaring at both of them, she wagged a finger from one to the other. "Get to the hospital wing, so Madame Pomfrey can clean up those horrible messes! I will send the appropriate authority figures in that direction. Now go!"

Harry hadn't expected anything else, so he simply grumbled a bit as he reached for his still-packed bag and headed for the trapdoor. He was vaguely aware of the sound of Ron's footsteps following him down the ladder, but he didn't turn around to look or speak to the redhead at all during their journey to the hospital wing. It wasn't until Madame Pomfrey had tutted softly at them and directed them to two empty beds in the far corner of the infirmary before exiting to get her supplies that Ron broke the thick silence.

"I'm going to get expelled, I hope you know."

Harry rolled his eyes and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am," Ron said indignantly. "I've already been caught once, remember? With the whole Malfoy thing?"

"And so have I, remember? Valerie Priers."

Ron let out a derisive laugh. "Oh, yeah, right. Like they're really going to expel Harry Potter."

Harry felt himself growing angry again. "Shut up, Ron."

Ron laughed again and turned to face Harry tauntingly. "It's not like you don't know it's the truth!"

"Just shut up."

"You sure as hell wouldn't shut up when I wanted you to," Ron pointed out smartly. "So, what makes you think I'm going to shut up now?"

"Because I say so." The voice of Madame Pomfrey entered the room yet again as she crossed through the rows of beds to sit in a chair between the two beds. "Now, does anything feel broken or seriously damaged?" Both boys reluctantly shook their heads, and Madame Pomfrey nodded, pouring a thick potion onto a towel. "Good then. Now, Mr. Weasley, let me see your lip." Ron's lip was sliced open and spurting blood quickly. He cringed when the nurse held the towel to the open cut and started cleaning the wound. She did the same with Harry's nose, and she muttered a quick spell to close the cuts. "Now, the bruising will have to go away on its own. I should send you back to class, but I want you to stay here for a few hours at least, just to make sure that you're both okay."

She disappeared out of the room again, and Ron was about to jump back into a verbal argument. He was cut off, however, by the sound of the door opening again. Both boys looked down at their beds, carefully avoiding the eyes of a very angry-looking Professor McGonagall. She didn't allow their avoided gazes for long, though, because the moment she reached the area between their beds, she spoke sharply. "Look at me."

Ron and Harry both took her order seriously and looked up. She was staring at them incredulously with both arms crossed under her chest. For a long moment, she didn't speak. Perhaps she was letting them sweat it out, but when she did speak, her voice was extremely ill-toned.

"I just cannot believe that the two of you are so childish and immature that... I just can't believe it! How could you be so stupid?!" Ron and Harry, thankfully, weren't stupid enough to think that she wanted an answer to her question, and they stayed quiet. "I have warned you time and time and time again this year about the dangers of getting distracted and weighed down by petty things! I don't know what you were fighting about, and I don't even want to know. The only thing I do want to know is that the two of you can at least be mature enough to work out whatever stupid differences caused this fight because the last thing that either of you needs at this moment is to be fighting with each other!"

Harry looked down at the comforter on his bed and started to speak quietly. "We..." He was cut off, however, by the sound of the door opening a third time and the sight of Professor Lupin crossing the room, an angry and determined look on his face.

He stopped right in front of the pair of Gryffindors and their head of house. Looking very sharply at each boy in return, he turned his eyes back to the other teacher and addressed her. "Professor McGonagall, may I please have a word with Harry and Ron?"

McGonagall looked quite put out by the suggestion that someone interrupt her discipline process. Turning sharply to her former-student, she said, "Professor Lupin, if you don't mind, I am trying to have a discussion with my students."

Professor Lupin nodded. "I understand, but I assure you that I will take proper care of the situation. Please, Professor."

Professor McGonagall looked sternly at each of her students before finally giving in. "Alright. But alert me if you need any assistance whatsoever."

"Yes, Ma'am." Professor Lupin waited for the older teacher to exit completely before he turned back to the students at hand. If Harry and Ron had momentarily been thankful that Lupin had taken over or thought that they were getting off easy, they immediately thought differently. His voice was even more outraged than the Transfiguration teacher's had been. "What the hell happened?!"

"We were fighting," Harry answered timidly.

Obviously, Lupin already knew. He looked crazily at the smaller of the two students and said, "Oh, no shit. I had no idea, Harry."

Harry looked down once again.

"What I want to know," Lupin went on, "is what exactly caused your momentary lapses in sanity." Ron opened his mouth, but the teacher cut him off. "No, I take that back. I don't even want to know. Because nothing, I mean nothing, should be important enough to make you hit your best friend."

If guilt was what he was after, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had accomplished his goal. Harry and Ron were both looking shamefully down at their beds.

"Are you two completely stupid?!" His voice was louder this time, and Ron and Harry knew they were in for just as bad, if not worse, of a fate as the one Professor McGonagall would have dished out. "Is there a brain in those thick heads at all? This is not some sort of joke, this is serious shit! Are you both aware that there are people out there who would like nothing more than to see the two of you dead?"

This definitely caused them to both look up. Harry glanced at Ron who was looking quite ill, and he immediately started to feel guilt. Opening his mouth reluctantly, he spoke timidly. "Professor, we..."

But Lupin just glared at him. "What do you think those people do when they get news that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are not only arguing with each other but throwing punches as well? Don't you realize that's exactly what they want?"

"But how would they know?" Ron's voice was just as quiet and timid as Harry's.

Lupin looked like he was in half-shock that the question had even been asked. "Please tell me you're not serious." When he got no response, he let out a disbelieving laugh. "Have you forgotten that several of the students in this school happen to be the sons and daughters of those very same people who want to see you dead? Have you forgotten how quickly news travels at this school? I'm willing to bet that the news of this fight has already made a full-circle in the gossip loop."

Almost as if by magic (and maybe it was), the door to the infirmary opened again, and Hermione came hurrying into the room, dragging her large back of books behind her. She finally dropped it and actually ran the remaining length of the room until she stopped beside Professor Lupin, panting. She looked from one best friend to the other and then back again before finally bursting out with a question.

"What the hell happened?!"

It was one of those rare moments when Hermione cursed, but neither of the boys could even enjoy it because she was so furious, they were both knocked speechless.

"You two are so stupid! I can't even believe that I'm friends with people as stupid as the two of you are! What the hell were you thinking?!"

Harry and Ron both tried very hard to correctly process the questions and insults being thrown in their direction by the third of their trio. Harry was quite offended, but he figured things would be much better if he just kept his mouth closed. Ron, however, seemed to think quite differently and opened his mouth before anyone could stop him.

"Well, excuse us for not being the brilliant, know-it-all, suck up that you are!"

Hermione's eyes darkened a bit, and Harry was almost certain that she was rather hurt by Ron's words. He really couldn't fathom why, though, seeing as Ron called her a know-it-all at least twice a week and had since they'd been eleven years old. She didn't make her hurt known too well, though, because as quickly as the look had come, it passed. Narrowing her chocolate eyes, she glared at the redhead.

"You are such an insufferable prat! I can't believe I almost..." Her voice trailed off, and she huffed loudly. "I just can't believe it!"

"You can't believe what, Hermione?" Ron challenged loudly. "You can't believe that you lowered your standards enough to befriend two idiots like us?!"

Hermione turned bright red, not from shame but from anger. "No, I can't believe that I thought... You know what? I don't even care!"

"You don't even care about what?!" Ron asked immediately. "Just say it, Hermione!"

Harry spoke up at this point. Turning his own glare in Ron's direction, he said, "Lay off of her, Ron!"

"You shut up, Harry!" Ron said instantly. "This is all your fucking fault anyway!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Just shut up! All of you!" Professor Lupin's loud and commanding voice immediately silenced all three students. When he achieved the gaining of all of their attentions, he swiftly summoned a chair from the other end of the room and placed it directly between the two hospital beds. Pointing at Hermione and then at the chair, he promptly said, "Sit," and she obeyed. Taking a deep breath, the teacher started speaking. "Now that you've all settled down and shut those incredibly huge mouths of yours, I'm going to talk. And you're all going to listen- no interruptions, understand?"

A collective murmur of, "Yes, Sir," was his answer.

Professor Lupin nodded, obviously happy with the response, and started his lecture.

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For the information obtained in Professor Remus Lupin's lecture, please tune in for the next installment of "When Things Start to Change."

I know this chapter was kind of choppy, but it is leading up to a very important part of the story. Please leave feedback and let me know what you think!