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A/N: I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I had so much work! Thank the good lord that school is over and that it's FINALLY SUMMER! Now I'll have plenty of time to write! ^__^

Confused

Chapter 3

By Blood57

"Harry, is that you?" Hermione asked, startled.

"I didn't know that Fred was your boyfriend," Harry said, ignoring her question.

"Well, I-"

"You just tripped and your tongue landed in his throat?!" Harry practically yelled.

"Harry, I would have expected this reaction from Ron, but not from you," Hermione said, taken aback.

"Well I'm so sorry if I don't fall into the prefect category of your planned out life!!!" Harry stormed off and slammed the door (which led to "his" and Ron's room) behind him.

Hermione buried her head in her hands, inhaling deeply. When she got downstairs, no one seemed to notice that she had not been in the room for a good fifteen minutes, nor did they notice that she had just ENTERED the room. Seeing as how everyone was either busy eating or occupying themselves by talking loudly to one another, Hermione wondered if anyone would notice her sneak some food out for Fred, but even if she didn't manage to be seen (which was unfeasible as Mrs. Weasley had just called out "Hermione, come and eat with us!" so abruptly that everyone turned their heads towards her) she would not have known where to go with the food since Fred had not told her where he had gone off to "practice".  Hermione nodded at Mrs. Weasley's request, feeling oddly numb. Hermione reached for the empty seat next to Ron, but recoiled slightly, at the sight of Ron's venomous eyes. Shaking her head, for she was convinced that she had just heard Ron emit a low grunt, Hermione seated herself next to Percy at the end of the table, just opposite Mrs. Weasley.

"Are you tired dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly as Hermione sat down, frowning slightly as Ginny told George to go shove it up his...but collected herself as her husband told Ginny off for using "imprudent language!" though Hermione was sure Mrs. Weasley would rather Mr. Weasley say something along the lines of "inapt language!" but all the same...

"Kind of...yeah," Hermione nodded, feeling that if she didn't continue to converse with Mrs. Weasley, she would most likely tell off everyone who was flicking bits of potatoes at each other, which was not exactly what Hermione wanted, seeing as how her ears had already begun to ring and she didn't need Mrs. Weasley shouting on top of it all.

"Do you want to be excused? You can go sleep upstairs – I'll save you some dinner if you'd like," she whispered the last part.

"That would be great – thanks," Hermione said, nodding politely, getting up.

"Where are you going?" Ron, who had been absorbed in his food, though he hadn't broken eye contact with Hermione, asked. He tried to make his voice sound casual but his efforts were in vain because it reached everyone's ears as a high-pitched squeak. Before Hermione could answer, Mrs. Weasley scolded Ron (Much to Hermione's relief – she really didn't have the energy to make up some pathetic excuse to satisfy Ron) for "pestering her when she's too tired to even explain instead of letting her be – you have no manners what so ever do you Ron?"

Hermione snorted, but it was stifled by George making a choking sound. Everyone turned their attention to him, even Hermione, though she pretended to be taking her time to walk out of the room.

"What have I been telling you for years??!! How come you never listen ME when I tell you that Ron has no manners?"

"When did you ever say that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Remember that time when I asked him to do my homework?" George said.

"And...?" Mrs. Weasley was expecting more than that.

"And he DIDN'T do it! The nerve of him! My own flesh and blood...my own flesh and blood!" George concluded dramatically. 

Hermione just shook her head as she headed upstairs, taking the steps three at a time.

The first thing she noted was that the door to Ron's room was locked, and she could see a thin sheet of light sneaking its way past the bottom of the door and onto the sand-toned carpet. She suspected that Harry was in there, but she had no idea what he was doing. Hermione let it go for now, seeing as how she had more urgent things on her mind at the moment, such as the fact that Fred hadn't eaten and he needed his energy for what would happen in a few hours. You don't have to let it happen, a voice inside Hermione's head told her, you can stop it. You do want to stop it, don't you? The voice continued. Of course she wanted to, that was out of the question. She would not let her best friend and her boyfriend – her boyfriend – her...Hermione smiled. It had a nice ring to it. Her boyfriend...she continued to smile. She backtracked to her previous thoughts – She would not let her best friend and her boyfriend duel each other. What if one of them got hurt? She would have to tell someone, but who? She couldn't tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, because they would punish Fred and Ron, and, though she knew they deserved it, their tempers would flare more so than she could only imagine, singling her out for the reasons of their punishment. Percy would probably do worse than Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and she could not risk that, though, in any other circumstances, Percy would be the ideal authoritative figure Hermione would call upon for guidance. Ginny could not be approached by Hermione because she would probably start weeping for no apparent reason (again) and Harry...well Hermione had no idea why Harry was suddenly throwing a tantrum, but she thought it wouldn't be the wisest move to approach him after what had happened. The only person left was George, but she wasn't really sure if informing George would help the situation. As Hermione lay on top of the bed, there was a knock on her door that seemed to echo through the soundless floor.

"Come in," said Hermione quietly.

"Hermione," Ginny appeared out of the shadows, "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure..." Hermione said wearily as she closed the door.

"Look, I – um, I owe you an explanation about what happened yesterday," Ginny's eyes met the ceiling, as though fascinated by it.

Now this I HAVE to hear, Hermione thought.

"Go on," Hermione said.

"Well, I was acting really moody because...I was P.M.S.ing and I know that's no excuse, but it was my first time so I was sort of..." her voice trailed off.

"Congratulations," Hermione said, as though it was a question. She didn't really know what else to say, but Ginny seemed to take it as a genuine blessing and nodded her head, saying "Thank you!"

"I hope you'll be able to forgive me," Ginny said.

"Of course I will," Hermione said, "Now go on, finish your dinner, I'm going to sleep..." Ginny went out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly as Hermione put on her nightdress. As she slipped under the covers, there was a knock at the door for the second time.

"Come in," Hermione said, sitting up. The figure strode in, flicked on the light and perched itself on the edge of Hermione's bed. It was George. Hermione thought that this would be a good time to tell him about the duel between his brothers, but he was the first one to speak.

"Hermione, Fred told me to –"

"Is Fred alright? Did he eat something? Has he been practicing? Is he going to duel tonight? What if he gets hurt? Where is he? What did he say? How do you know about the duel?"

"What duel?" George asked, though Hermione could tell he was just playing dumb.

"The duel that Ron and Fred are having tonight at midnight," Hermione said anxiously.

"Oh... that duel," George said, sounding disappointed. Hermione could have sworn she heard George mumble, "IF you consider Ron fighting Fred to be a duel!"

"Yes, that duel," Hermione said a little throatily. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Come off it, Hermione," George said disbelievingly, "You actually think that Ron is smart enough to cause any damage?"

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it. George rubbed his eyelid, all the while sporting a triumphant grin, as though he had just won a bet of some sort.

"That's NOT the point!" Hermione pestered onward, "The point is that one of your brothers, if not, both of them, are going to get hurt – don't you CARE?"

"Hermione, you can't control everything. You have to let some things run its course," George shrugged.

"But it's not like you didn't know," Hermione continued, "You can stop it. You HAVE the chance. You –"

"Look," George cut in, apparently loosing his patience, "The only reason I came here in the first place is to deliver a message. Fred said that you are not to interfere with the duel, which means you are not to sneak outside before midnight to try and stop it. And," George said the word "and" as though it was supposed to cheer Hermione up, "He said that they changed the duel rules," Hermione thought that "they" referred to Ron and Fred, "They're not fighting with wands."

Hermione stared blankly at George, unsure whether or not this was supposed to mean something to her.

"So they're NOT fighting?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Not with their wands, I've taken them," he said, pulling out to thin strips of wood from the pocket of his checkered pants.

"So they'll be fighting...physically?" Hermione gulped. Fred was stronger than Ron. Fred could probably knock Ron out. Or worse... Hermione was getting nervous by the second.

"Look – Fred warned me to warn you. DON'T try to stop it – you'll just make it worse. And don't tell me that I can stop it," George said as Hermione opened her mouth to protest, "because I'LL just make it worse... Trust me...well, that's all then, I'm off to bed, Goodnight Hermione," George said, closing the light.

"Goodnight George," Hermione said softly. She would not listen to Fred's request to leave him and Ron be. She would not listen to George's warning to let Fred and Ron sort this mess out by themselves. She would do something about it, she would stop it, even if she had to risk...she shook her head. She would not think about what would happen if the plan she had formed in the ten seconds since George had left the room would fail.

A/N: Thank you NYCGAL for the idea of having Ginny PMSing! By the way – I know the thing about Ron not doing George's homework was stupid – that's why I made Hermione shake her head. Thank you for everyone who reviewed and if you didn't – go do it NNNOOOWWW!!!!!!! AND DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORY, "OF TRAGEDIES AND ROMANCE" BY BLOOD57!!!

*^~^*BLOOD57*^~^*