"It was horrible," Ron confided in Harry. "I just tingled all over, for no reason. Have you ever had that happen?" He paused, and waited for an answer. "Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Harry, it's so wonderful to have somebody here who feels just like I do and can tell me it's all alright."

"Well, you've got me."

Ron spun around. "Really, how the hell do you do that?"

"I didn't do anything, I just came up from the Owlery. We got more letters from Ginny." Hermione threw him his letter. "What do you need support for anyway?

"Nothing," Ron said quickly, opening his letter. It said the usual stuff, about what Fred and George were up to at the shop, and how quiet it was without Ron, and how strange it was to be the only Weasley home for summer. He stuffed it in his pocket, to reply to later.

"I hope you're not wasting Harry's time with trivial conversation," Hermione said, as she read her own letter.

"It wasn't trivial, just private. Besides, what difference does it make what we say to him? I doubt he really listens."

"Madam Pomfrey said he would. He just might not know whether he's listening or not."

Ron snorted. "Same thing!"

"No, it isn't, Ron, because sometimes things can help you without you knowing they are." Hermione folded Ginny's letter carefully, and placed it under her pillow so that she wouldn't lose it. "Just like I could be so helpful to you even if you don't think I would be. Now come, on tell me about what you were talking to Harry about, what made you tingle all over?"

"Nothing!" insisted Ron, standing up and crossing the room to look out of the window. Hermione frowned at his silhouetted figure at the window, and wondered what on earth the matter with him was. Then she suddenly was reminded of her own 'over-reaction' last night, and was suddenly very uncomfortable herself. Was that was he'd been talking about? Or was she just being silly again? Oh, how difficult these things were. She didn't press the matter any further, too uncertain.

"The Bludger," Ron blurted suddenly, with a big smile. "Yesterday, while you were in the library, I was outside practising dodging Bludgers, and then one hit me on the head, and it didn't hurt as much as you might expect, but it just sort of tingled all over, you see…"

Hermione smiled, and went along with his excuse, but inside, her ideas were confirmed. She could see through Ron's lies like they were glass, and it leaned even more towards the fact that she might not have been just imagining things at all. He had felt awkward about last night, but for what reason she couldn't say. Either he had some kind of feelings for her, or he felt that she had feeling for him. But how to go about proving one or another? She wasn't quite sure she even wanted to find out the truth, it was far too daunting. Perhaps it would wear off.

***

When Hermione had left the room to go and talk about dinner with the house elves, Ron lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling gloomily. He didn't dare talk aloud to Harry again in case Hermione turned out to have been standing in the doorway all along.

Hopefully Hermione had fallen for his excuse about the Bludger, although he had a nasty feeling that she knew him well enough to read his mind. He wasn't even quite sure why he'd felt the whole incident yesterday was important enough to talk to Harry about. All that had happened was that Hermione had leaned on him a bit too heavily and it was uncomfortable… and she'd moved as soon as he'd asked her to, anyway. He brushed aside more doubting feelings that seemed to be rising up within him. Surely that was it. What more could there be to it?

"You know, Harry," Ron said, casually. "I think I'm going crazy."

He looked up, but there was no sign of Hermione. "Well, she's not here now," Ron admitted. "But the second I say anything important, she'll be straight back here. You watch."

***

Hermione was actually on the other side of the castle, just leaving the kitchens after another failed attempt to get permission to lay the table. Her mind was full of Ron as she wandered down the corridor, which annoyed her, and she tried desperately to think of something else. It would all wear off in a few days, they were always arguing and things always got better. This wasn't an argument though, admittedly, it was some kind of… tension… but she was sure it'd go away.

"Hermione! What are you doing here?" A familiar voice boomed, in surprise.

"Hagrid!" Hermione greeted him warmly. "You remember, we're here looking after Harry."

Hagrid's brow creased into a frown. "Oh yes, I remember now. How is he? Woken up yet?"

"Not yet." Hermione smiled.

"Ah, well, he will soon enough, I'm sure. Bit of rest will do him good."

"Yes, that's what Madam Pomfrey said."

"Is Ron here too?"

"Yes, he is. He's with Harry at the moment."

"Do you two want to come to the hut for tea? I've missed the two of you. And Harry, of course."

"That would be lovely, Hagrid."

***

"Hagrid didn't seem worried about Harry at all, and you know how close they are," Hermione told Ron, who was uncharacteristically engrossed in a book. "So really, there's no reason to worry."

"Hmm," Ron said, vaguely, and turned the page. The book was, also uncharacteristically, 'Unfogging the Future' by Cassandra Vablatsky.

Hermione sighed, and pulled out parchment and a quill in order to write to Ginny. She hesitated over the matter of mentioning Ron's strange behaviour, but decided against it. As it was partly due to her, she didn't want to draw any attention to it. Instead, she focussed on the nice weather they'd been having, and her conversation with Hagrid, and how it was very quiet and dull on the whole but she had found a new book on Potions in the library… She refrained from mentioning her and Ron's flying trips also, just in case. She wasn't quite sure what she was so worried about, but it was best to ignore it until it went away.

Ron was still reading, she noticed, as she looked up. He hadn't really shown any interest in Divination before, but then, she considered, remembering Ron dangling a chocolate frog over Harrys' nose the day before, maybe he was trying to decipher all his worries.

"Ron," she said.

"What?" He didn't look up from the page.

"If you write a letter to Ginny now, I'll send it with mine. I'm about to go to the Owlery, but I can wait…"

"It's alright, I'll do it later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

***

They made their way to Hagrid's hut in silence. Hermione strode ahead; walking faster helped her think faster, and her mind was still full of ideas. Ron on the other hand, preferred to trudge behind, wallowing in all his thoughts and mostly thinking about how he couldn't be bothered to think at all.

Hagrid was looking very pleased to see them. "It'll be nice to have some company," he said, beaming. "I've just got back from a nice nature study in the mountains."

"You didn't bring anything back with you, did you?" Hermione asked, doubtfully.

"Nah," Hagrid shook his head. "There was plenty of pretty creatures but nothing that would really survive outside the mountains."

Hermione smiled, but was surprised at Hagrid's common sense.

"Was it cold?" Ron asked, handing out a box of Every Flavour Beans.

"It was bloody freezing," Hagrid said, happily. "Just the right climate for Swedish Short-snout dragons. Got to see some babies."

"How did you get close enough to see that?" Hermione asked curiously, wondering how Hagrid could be discreet.

"Ah, they just trust me. They can sense I know what I'm doing. Clever creatures, dragons."

"I half wish you'd brought one back," Ron said, who seemed to have forgotten the chaos Norbert had caused.

"Ron, really." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So," Hagrid asked. "Have you been having fun up in the castle?"

"Well, we were to start with, but things have been getting a little boring recently," Hermione said, and noticed that Ron had suddenly starting staring at the floor, slumped forward in his chair.

"That's a shame, that is," Hagrid said, thoughtfully. "I'm afraid I'll be off again tomorrow, too. Got my tour of the more Southern dragons to do. Hoping to see some Peruvian Vipertooths."

"Aren't they incredibly poisonous?" Hermione asked, frowning again.

"Yes," Hagrid confirmed, cheerfully. "But that doesn't worry me. Dragons don't mind me, as I said."

"Well, just make sure you resist bringing any of those back."

"Nah," Hagrid said, dismissively. "I've realised that it's not right to bring dragons up here. I'm going to go for little things. Fish maybe. Mackled Malaclaws are quite easy to look after, I hear."

"Mackled what?" Ron asked, who was rather ignorant in such areas.

"At least that's not life-threatening," Hermione said, reluctantly. "But considering its bite gives you bad luck for a week, I don't think it'd be worth it. What fun can you get out of a lobster?"

"You just have to treat them right," Hagrid disagreed. "Anything can love you back if you're nice to it."

"A Murtlap would be better," Hermione suggested. "They're really quite harmless unless you step on it."

"You might be right there," Hagrid considered. "I'll see what's about."

Ron was starting to feel rather left out of this conversation, which continued until it was time for them to leave. By that point he was feeling very tired, as well as annoyed, and he was quite grateful to head straight for bed.

***

"Are you alright, Ron?" Hermione asked, awkwardly, as they headed back to the castle.

"I'm fine," Ron said, with a quick smile, but Hermione was still suspicious.

"I… I just… if it's anything to do with me… you know it'll just get better by itself, soon. It always does." Hermione tried to sound comforting, but Ron obviously wasn't interested because he began to walk very quickly ahead of her.

Hermione didn't make an attempt to catch up, and instead walked slowly, allowing him time to get to bed before she arrived. She wondered briefly if she'd made things worse, but decided not. Things always got better between the two of them. Even though there hadn't been anything quite like this, before.

When she reached the top of the stairs leading to the dormitory, she stepped quietly, checking to see if Ron was talking to Harry again. If he was, she decided, she'd just turn back and sit in the common room till he was done. Talking to Harry probably got all his feelings a little straighter, and besides, she didn't mean to keep walking in on him.

She peered carefully around the doorframe, but Ron was in bed, it seemed, the curtains tightly drawn around him. No sound could be heard from inside, and so Hermione quietly tiptoed to bed.