We've reached another chapter in our story. Time flies, doesn't it? Ah well. It's been awhile since I've mentioned this, but all characters belong to the greatest literary genius of all time, also known as J.K. Rowling.

Please, as always, read and review, and thank you to all who have done so thus far.

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It had been a few days since Ginny brought the New Year's Eve Ball to her attention, but now Hermione was wondering how she had ever forgotten about it. Girls were constantly eyeing boys and traveling in packs. Hermione didn't really see any change in the male species, as they were always eyeing the girls.

Soon Hermione realized that annoyance wasn't the only emotion going through here; she was beginning to feel a little nervous. Last year, Krum had asked her to the ball only days before. Would he be doing that again? 'No,' she thought, 'if that's what he was going to ask me that day in the library, obviously not.'

Hermione also realized that even though she thought things might be different between her and Ron, everything was basically the same. Though they got along ninety percent of the time, that ten was always prominent.

She was dwelling on this one afternoon when she was, once again, studying in the library. She was snapped back to reality when someone tapped her shoulder so suddenly that she jumped about a foot in the air and a copy of Wonderful Witches and Wizards of the Ancient World landed on her toes.

"Ouch! Oh, hello Viktor," she said, blushing when she realized who it was.

"Hello. Would you like to go for a valk vith me?" he said, motioning to the librarian, who was eyeing them fiercely for making so much noise.

Hermione nodded and packed up the books that were hers and returning Madam Pince's to their proper places. Then she and Krum left the library together.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked him. He motioned towards the front doors of the castle, and they made their way outside.

It was a crisp November day, bordering the edge of December. Although it was a few weeks too early, the air was already hinting of snow. A wind blew at Hermione and she shivered, wishing she had thought to stop and grab her cloak. To Krum, the weather was summery for him, and showed no signs of being cold.

He suddenly looked at her with concern. "Are you cold?" he asked her.

"Just a little," Hermione said, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.

"Here, take this," Krum said, handing her his blood red cloak. He wrapped her in it and fastened the buttons to block out the chill. Hermione noticed that it was still warm from him wearing it.

"Thanks," Hermione said gratefully.

"I have yet to ask you vhat I vanted to in the library, Herm-my-oh-ninny," Krum said, a tad bashful. "I vanted to know if you haff found a date for the New Year's Eeff Ball."

Hermione's heart started pounding extremely fast and she could feel her face redden. She knew this might be coming, but she hadn't expected it to be this quickly.

"Well - erm - no, I haven't actually," she said, squirming inside his cloak.

There was a small pause in the conversation, then,

"Vell, it vould be a great honor if you vould attend it vith me," he stammered, his face now too going red. It reminded her of another one of her close friends, and how it would make his ears go red as well. It was a few seconds later when she realized that Krum was waiting for her to reply and was jarred out of her trance.

"Oh! I would like that very much," she said, not sure if she really meant it with all of her heart. Something had just occurred to her that made her rethink he answer. "Just as friends, right?" she added.

Krum's smile faltered only a fraction, but he then replied, "Of course. Vhatever makes you happy."

They were on their way back to the castle now, and they passed the journey in a squeamish silence. It was only when they reached the staircase that led to Gryffindor tower that Krum spoke.

"I shall leave you here. Goodbye, Herm-my-oh-ninny," he said, taking her hand and kissing it in departure.

Hermione barely looked back as she ran up all seven staircases. When she reached the portrait hole, she uttered the password to the Fat Lady, but she wouldn't budge.

"Who gave you the password to Gryffindor tower?" she leered at Hermione.

"I belong to Gryffindor tower! I have since I arrived her five years ago!" she answered her, not knowing what kind of question that was.

"Oh really? Then what was one of the passwords from five years ago?" the Fat Lady said with a nasty grin.

Still having no idea what the Fat Lady was on about, she thought back to her first year. One particular scene came to her mind of her and three of her other fellow Gryffindors running down that very hall to the Fat Lady's portrait. They had been out of bounds and out of bed, and it was only because of a certain redhead pulling her along the corridors that she ever made it back into the common room at all. She remembered Harry hurriedly giving the Fat Lady the password.

"Pig's Snout!" Hermione said triumphantly.

"Very well," the Fat Lady sighed, grudgingly opening the portrait hole that led to the common room.

The common room was very packed and noisy. She made her way over to her friends who were sprawled out on the floor doing homework, but not before realizing that many people were looking at her just like the Fat Lady had.

It wasn't until she reached Ginny, Ron and Harry that she realized what was wrong. Ginny looked up with her with a smile on her face, but it quickly fell when she looked at Hermione's body rather than her face.

"What are you wearing that for?" she said, and Hermione looked down.

She let out a gasp of horror. She was still wrapped in Viktor's cloak. Now she knew why the Fat Lady hadn't wanted to let her in; she had thought Hermione was from Durmstrang. She tried furiously to unbutton it, but hadn't even undone the first clasp when Ron looked up. His face went from normal and freckly to angry and crimson faster than with the use of Fever Fudge.

"So, you were talking with HIM again?" Ron said a little too loudly, attracting the attention of some nearby students.

"Yes I was, but I wasn't aware that I had to consult you before I talked to anyone other than you or Harry," Hermione snipped.

Ron's face went an even deeper shade of magenta.

"Well, what did he want?" he asked, his voice on a determined level of calm.

"Not that it's any of your business, but he asked me to the New Year's Eve Ball," she replied, trying not to look him in the eye, for he was likely to explode. At this point, she didn't know which was redder, the comfy chairs they were near by the fire or Ron's face.

"And?" Ron asked with mock sweetness.

"Oh for goodness sake Ron, it's none of your business!" Hermione exclaimed, standing up as she spoke.

"I KNEW IT! You knew I didn't have a date to the ball yet, so you smarmed up to Krum so he would take you so you wouldn't have to go with me!" Ron shouted, jumping to his feet, making one sixth year girl spill her bottle of ink and the entire common room go silent. "You couldn't resist the chance of showing up here, wearing his cloak to get all the other girls jealous! Fine! Go snog your boyfriend, see if I care!"

Hermione felt as if she had been smacked in the face. The contents of the common room were either looking at her or Ron, and she knew some people were probably taking bets on who would win this round. She was seething with anger, willing to jump at him and tear his eyes out. She regretted every nice thing she had ever said about him; ever felt about him.

"I would say I didn't know what was wrong with you, Ron, but I do. The problem is that you do care."

Then with all the dignity she had left, sheltered her eyes now brimming with tears and ran up the staircase to the girl's dormitories, Krum's cloak billowing behind her as she went.

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Ginny sat in the common room, completely shocked at the scene that had just taken place. Slowly, the common room started to become noisy again, although a few people's gazes flitted in their direction from time to time. It was only when she was sure that no one else was listening to them that she spoke.

"I hope you're proud of yourself, Ron. You just managed to lose the girl of your dreams and your best friend over something completely stupid," she muttered to her brother, and then followed in Hermione's wake, up to the girl's dormitories.

When she reached the landing for the fifth year's dormitory, she could hear someone who was trying to control their sobbing but entirely losing on the other side of the door. When she knocked, the crying ceased and was replaced by echoing footsteps.

"If you've come to apologize, Ron, I've got a few well chosen words-," she started before having Ginny appear behind the door.

"Don't worry, I'm not Ron. I think even HE has the sense not to come up here just yet," Ginny said, stepping inside the dormitory. (a/n: yes, I know the boys can't go up the staircases, but just go with the story people ()

She took a look at her friend. In a short span of five minutes, she had already managed to smear what little makeup she wore and make her hair ten times frizzier than she had ever seen it.

"That was cruel, what he said to you down there," Ginny said, wrapping her friend in a hug. "No one deserves that."

"Why can't he just be normal and tell me how he feels? I'm not going to vomit all over him if he tells me," Hermione said between hiccups.

"Because Ron's way of dealing with things is not to deal with them at all. I guess it's a guy thing," Ginny answered her, digging a tissue out of her cloak pocket for her friend.

"Yes, well, he won't have to worry about telling me now. You guys are going to be in big trouble with him; know he knows you told me," Hermione said, taking the tissue Ginny gave her and honking into it.

"Don't worry about it, he would have found out soon enough," Ginny replied. "Harry and I were going to tell him that you knew, but I don't think we have to now," she said, smiling warily at Hermione. "Forget about Ron for now though. Krum did ask you to the Ball though, didn't he?"

Hermione had completely forgotten about that up until that moment.

"Yes, he did. You were right, Ginny. That's what he wanted to ask me the other day," she said, throwing the used tissue into a wastebasket.

"That's wonderful, Hermione. Come on now, let's fix you up, then we can go down to dinner." Ginny soothed, walking over to her friend and leading her over to the girl's washrooms.

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Ron and Harry sat on the floor by the fire, no words spoken between them. Harry didn't need to say anything to Ron; he knew what he had done was wrong. Nearly everyone had gone to dinner, but Ron didn't have much of an appetite. His stomach was clenched, and he felt as if he had been slapped across the face. Apparently, Hermione either knew or had guessed how he felt about her. He wasn't sure how he felt about this, but didn't have time to figure it out; Ginny had just descended down the spiral staircase, followed by a puffy eyed Hermione.

Ron went to get up and say something, but before he even started was cut off by Ginny.

"I don't think that it's such a good idea that you dine with us tonight," she said in an icy tone. "We'll see you later."

Ron was left to gape with his mouth wide as his best friend and his sister exited the portrait hole without so much as a look back at him or Harry.

And so the routine continued for a good number of days. Hermione barely spoke a word to even Harry, so Ron knew that he had really done it this time. She seemed to have developed a selective hearing when things concerned Ron or he would speak in front of her; she would pretend he wouldn't exist and walk by him on many occasions. He would even give anything to have her scream at him, hit, kick, or punch him, but she had resorted to not doing any of those things, either.

"I really blew it Harry. I wish she would speak to me. I would do anything to have her even look at me," Ron said one day when they were doing Charms homework in the common room.

Harry looked up from his essay on the Hiccup Hex. "Anything?" he asked his friend.

"Absolutely," Ron said, a pleading note in his voice.

"Well you know what you've got to do, don't you?" Harry said, placing down his quill.

"You know I don't," Ron snapped at him.

"You embarrassed her in front of the entire Gryffindor house. You need to cause that kind of embarrassment on yourself," Harry answered, as if the answer was as simple as one plus one.

"How do you suppose I do that?" Ron said, looking as if summer holidays had been denied.

Harry thought for a moment, and then an idea popped into his head.

"Well, there's this muggle song."

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The next night, Hermione and Ginny were sitting in front of the common room fire. Hermione was busily making more elf hats and scarves, and Ginny was filling her in on the latest gossip. Suddenly, there was a great shout of laughter from behind her. She turned around to see Seamus Finnegan doubled up with laughter and pointing out the window.

"Look everyone! Weasley's gone insane!" he choked out.

Hermione abandoned her knitting needles, Ginny close behind her. When Hermione reached the window, there were already many students smushed up against it, wearing faces identical to Seamus'. After she had forced her way to the front of the swarm, she could see why.

Frost covered the ground outside where Ron stood, and yet he was out there, wearing nothing but the old pajamas he had had since his first year at Hogwarts. They were incredibly short in his legs and arms, and Hermione could tell by the expression on his face it was in a few more places also.

"Hold on, he's saying something!" Ginny cried, disbelief written all over her face. "Somebody open a window!"

There was a rush of hands towards the great windows, and three of them were successfully pulled open. Then, Ron's voice so distant before, echoed up through the night's sky and into the windows.

"Why can't we be friends, Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends?" Ron was singing, each verse in a different pitch. Most of the kids in the common room who Hermione knew were from muggle families were laughing the hardest of all, recognizing it as a song from the radio.

Hermione couldn't help it, but the corners of her mouth slowly turned up into a smile, until she, like the rest, was laughing until tears leaked out of her eyes.

Then, the doors of the castle banged open, and Filch the caretaker was hobbling along straight towards Ron. Seeing this, Ron started running in the opposite direction until he was no longer in sight. Slowly, everyone made their way back from the window into the common room, clutching their stomachs or wiping their eyes from laughter.

"You've got a Durmstrang teacher and your best friend after you. Wild!" Parvati Patil said to Hermione, her face red from laughing.

Hermione was at a loss for words, which rarely ever happened. But that didn't stop her heart from telling her that no matter what Ron Weasley had said to her in the past, she would be able to forgive him because of his social sacrifice.

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Wow. I loved this chapter. I just banged it out, it came into my head and whoosh. Here you have it. Please read and review, especially if you liked this chapter as much as I did (