Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5

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After breakfast, Ron and Hermione headed back to the Quidditch field. Hermione was a bit wary about leaving the ground again, but Ron convinced her in the end, and she found herself hanging in the air once more.

"Okay," Ron instructed softly, his head mere inches away from her and his breath stirring her hair slightly. "This time, when you want to stop, just pull up on the end of your broom gently." He demonstrated. "Got it?"

"I've got it," Hermione replied, a determined look in her eyes. She was going to get it right this time. There was however, one little problem..."But you're really going to have to move away if you want me to do anything. I can't think with you this close."

Ron's face dimpled in a smile as he pulled back, and Hermione dragged her eyes away from the sight. She had to concentrate.

She started off slowly, crawling along at a snail's pace. Then she pulled up lightly on the broom, managing to bring it to a stop, albeit a rough one.

"Good!" Ron's voice called encouragement to her. He hadn't left her side this time; he followed her closely, allowing her just enough room to maneuver. "That was great, Hermione, let's try it again."

And so it went. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week Hermione worked on learning to fly and play Quidditch. They practiced in any spare time they had, and once Ron deemed her able to fly well enough, she began practicing with the Quidditch team. She was supposed to play a Chaser, which, though challenging, in many ways was nowhere near as hard as Harry or Ron's job. At first, the team was completely discouraged at her lack of skills, but she learned quickly, and did well enough to start earning their gruding respect.

A comment often heard around the field after that was, "Hermione: our Rookie of the Century."

The first time she heard it she was on her way out of the changing rooms after a Saturday practice, and it was being whispered by several first years who were clustered around the entrance to the field.

"I take it that's a compliment, no?" she had asked with a laugh as she came up behind them unexpectedly.

The boys jumped in surprise, swinging around to face her. Their eyes widened, and then they grinned at her.

"Guess it is," one of them spoke up, "it was Fred and George that told it to us." They walked off in a group.

Aha. So that was where that little nickname came from. Needless to say, she wasn't entirely displeased. It was kind of cute, actually.

She smiled to herself, and was about to walk away, when a hand around her waist stopped her. "There you are, my little Rookie of the Century."

Hermione laughed, slapping Ron's hand away at the same time. "Ro-on..."

He chuckled, taking his hand away. "Let's go get some lunch, shall we?"

Harry met them in the Great Hall, and demanded immediately to be informed of Hermione's progress. He hadn't been able to make practice that day because of an extra, last minute assignment he'd been given by Snape.

Ron was pleased to oblige, while Hermione sat quietly, more worried about filling her stomach than talking. She did have to speak up towards the end of the conversation however, when Ron began to repeat himself.

"She was brilliant, Harry. Bloody brilliant. She's learning the game like a natural, and her flying's improved dramatically, though we'll be working on it more after lunch. I'm sure she'll do well. She's brilliant..."

Now, while Hermione didn't mind hearing herself praised every now and then, Ron was getting a bit carried away. "Ron!" she'd interrupted after about the fourth time he said something along the same line. "Shut up."

"Thank you!" Harry said loudly, causing several of the closest students to grin. They'd all been getting pretty tired of the conversation themselves.

Ron quieted instantly, looking a bit hurt. He recovered quickly though, and grinned charmingly at Hermione. "What'll you give me if I do?"

The tone of his voice invoked numerous chuckles from around the table, and Hermione felt her face go red. "Ron," she hissed, elbowing him in the ribs where no one could see.

But they didn't need to see. Ron's loud exclamation was enough to insure that. "Geez, Hermione, what was that for? I was only teasing."

"Well please don't," she replied, her voice lowered so no one else could hear.

"Why not?" Ron protested. "We're together now aren't we?" Had been for weeks. Though come to think of it, she never had seemed to like him showing his affection in public. Didn't seem to bother her a bit when they were alone though. What was going on with her? She seemed, well, embarrassed. Normally, that was an emotion Ron could sympathize with, but not right now. What was there to be embarrassed about?

"Well, yes, I expect we are, but-" Hermione tried to explain how she felt, knowing she was failing miserably. How could she explain something she didn't even really understand? She just felt this overwhelming urge to keep it quiet, to savor it just a little longer as their own little secret...But she couldn't really find the words to tell him that. He'd probably think it was stupid...

"Are you embarrassed, Hermione?" Ron asked quietly. He didn't need to add "of me?" It hung in the silence with all the shape and form of a physical object.

"No, of course not," Hermione assured him quickly. How could she ever be embarrassed of him? He was amazing, and funny, and smart, and sensitive...not to mention really cute. There wasn't a single thing about him to be embarrassed about. Well, okay, maybe there were a few things, everyone had their faults after all. But how could he even think such a thing? Didn't he know her any better than that?

Hermione was seized by a sudden wild impulse to disprove his suspicion, to stand up right there in front of everyone and kiss him full on the lips, but she fought it down. That was way too dramatic...

"Then why did what I said bother you?" His tone was no less even, but there was an undercurrent in it that scared her. Why couldn't he just believe her?

"Ron," she began, trying to ignore all the curious looks people were beginning to shoot their way. Even Harry looked slightly interested. "I don't think this is a good time or place to talk about this..."

Ron's eyebrow lifted with sarcasm. "Oh really? And when would you suggest?"

His tone irked her, and Hermione found herself growing upset. What was his problem? All she'd asked him not to do was make insinuating suggestions in front of their friends, was anything so wrong with that?

Standing abruptly, Hermione left the table. She needed to be alone, to think. And she couldn't do that if Ron was going to act like a..a..a great prat! He wouldn't even wait to let her explain, he just automatically assumed that she was embarrassed of him. Well, if he wanted to sulk in self pity, let him! She had other things she could do. A whole pile of homework was waiting for her for one thing...

Ron stared, eyes wide and mouth gaping as Hermione left. That was it? She was just going to get up and walk away? He started to follow her, then stopped himself. No, she was probably expecting him to do just that, and right now he didn't feel like going along with anything she wanted.

Part of him wondered what was wrong with him, if he was going crazy, but another part, the one that had more control right then, was insisting that he'd done nothing wrong. Why should he go after her? He'd just asked her a simple question, after all, she didn't have to storm out like he'd just given her the biggest insult in the world. If she wasn't embarrassed, then why did she care if he touched her in public. He wasn't even really asking for much, just an arm around her waist now and then, a quick kiss...

He dragged himself from his thoughts to find Harry staring at him. "What?"

"Aren't you going to go after her?" his friend asked, glancing towards the doorway where Hermione had just vanished.

Ron settled himself back in his seat and picked up his fork, preparing to finish his meal. "No."

Harry looked surprised, and not just a little uneasy. "Why not?"

Ron shrugged, as if he could care less about the whole incident. "She was the one who walked out."

Harry didn't say anything else, just shook his head. There was a storm brewing, he could feel it already. And all over one tiny misunderstanding.

Ron spent several moments trying to act casual and force his fork into his mouth, but he seemed to have suddenly lost his appetite. He tried once more, then shoved the plate away in disgust.

"I'm going outside to practice some more," he said tersely, standing up. "I'll see you at dinner."

Ron spent the rest of the afternoon trying to practice, but he was playing horribly. And he wasn't so dense he didn't realize the reason either. Cursing under his breath, he finally brought his broom to the ground after two hours of wasted effort. He couldn't play when he was distracted, and he had been distracted ever since Hermione had walked out of the Great Hall.

Sitting on the shore of the lake, he replayed the earlier conversation over in his mind. Had he really said anything horrible enough to evoke that kind of reaction in her?

Then it hit him. Maybe it wasn't so much as what he had said, as what he had implied. Hermione thought he didn't trust her! And in all honesty, he really hadn't tried to give her the chance to explain. She'd wanted to talk after they finished eating, but in his burst of self-righteous pride, Ron had demanded an answer then and there.

Hermione had simply refused to give it to him.

God, he was such an idiot.

Well, if he knew Hermione, she wasn't going to apologize to him first. If any kind of resolve was going to be reached, he'd have to be the one to make the move. Even knowing that as he did, it took him over half an hour to let go of his pride and gather the nerve to talk to her. Hermione could be quite...difficult- to say the least- when she was mad.

But he eventually did pull himself to his feet, determined to speak to her. Ron brushed the dirt off his robe and walked back inside.

My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you

I've been running around in circles in my mind

And it always seems that I'm following you, girl

Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find

Hermione left the library hurriedly, having gotten very little actual work done. She'd been too busy thinking about how she could patch the situation with Ron up. After some deep thought, she'd realized that she herself had probably been wrong to walk out the way she had, but there was no changing that now. No, the only thing she could possibly do now was try to talk to him, to get him to understand why she'd acted the way she ha-

Something hit her in the side, knocking her books out of her hands. Somebody had run into her. No, scratch that, she'd run into somebody. She was the one who hadn't been watching where she was going...

"Sorry, Seamus," she apologized, stooping to pick up her books.

Seamus Finniggan bent down to help. "Nah, it was my fault Hermione. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Neither was I," she admitted with a laugh.

Seamus grinned. "I suppose I'll share the blame with you then." He handed her the last of her books back, and they both stood up.

"Deal," Hermione agreed. She opened her mouth to ask him something, then shut it again. He probably wouldn't know anyway...

But Seamus had caught the look. "What is it, Hermione?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Oh, nothing really," she said vaguely, but Seamus didn't buy it; she could tell by the look he was giving her. She gave in. "Have you seen, Ron?"

He frowned. "Not since after lunch." He regarded her closely. "I take it you two haven't patched things up yet, then?"

Hermione shook her head, her chagrin evident on her face. "No, not yet." She started to walk away, giving him a slight wave as she did so, but his hand on her arm stopped her.

She glanced back at him, curious.

"You've got to speak to him, Hermione, you know that right? I haven't seen him since lunch, but he looked pretty upset then, and if I know him at all, he probably still is."

"I know," Hermione replied. "But I've got to find him first."

Seamus nodded, then gave her a wink. "Good luck then." He turned and retreated down the hallway.

Hermione laughed, but the sound died on her lips the moment she turned around.

Ron stood in the corridor, glaring at her. "Getting a little cozy there with Seamus, weren't you?"

Hermione tried to stop the angry retort that rose from her lips, but it burst from her anyway. "No, actually, I wasn't. But if I had been, that's my business."

Ron's eyes spit flames. Then suddenly, abruptly, the fire was gone, and all that was left was a deadly cold in his ice-blue eyes. "You're right. It is you're business, Hermione. Don't let me get in the way."

Hermione's heart jumped into her throat as she watched him turn and walk away. Why couldn't she ever control that mouth of hers when it mattered?!!

"Ron," she called after him, but he ignored her. "Ron!" she tried again, rushing to catch up with him and grab his arm. He shrugged her off as though she were an embodiment of The Plague itself and kept walking.

Oh damn, damn, damn! What had she done? Unable to keep down the despairing sob that rose up in her throat then, Hermione covered her face

with her hand and fled the scene.

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A/N: Yes, a bit of a cliffie there, lol. I'm going to try to put the next chapter up tommorrow, because I don't know if I'll have time to do it Saturday like I normally would. I usually help my dad in his shop on the weekends, so I'm pretty busy. Thanks to all my loyal reviewers, please keep up the very good work!

kneh13;Eiraugcam Suruaseht;cat-chan (You're very welcome, even if I didn't mean to do it, lol. I'm glad you like Ron and Hermione, I was worried about keeping them in-character. Hopefully I'm succeeding.);Line-From Denmark (Yes, Ron is sweet!);Curlsof Gold;martha (Thanks, I will!);Hermione30 (Yes, I thought it was about time we got to see Hermione flying. *grins* And thank you so much for the tip, I went back and tried to correct the third and fourth chapters for mistakes, and I payed special attention to this one, so hopefully it was better!);Fallon;Kadizel05 (The story's not over yet!);ThinkingOfaName (Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.)