A/N: Haha no, it's not over, don't worry! This is a Ron/Hermione fic, don't get too worried. I just have this thing called a plot I need to follow, lol! So now that I've gotten that out of the way, on with Chapter 8.

Chapter 8: Secrets

Ron awoke early on a Saturday in mid-October. He had again been forced awake by Neville's repetitive snoring. You'd think that a guy would learn to sleep with that after six bloody years! Ron thought angrily, throwing off his blankets ruthlessly. He pulled on his slippers and walked to the end of his bed, throwing his trunk open with no mercy. The sound of the trunk colliding with the bed post rang through the dormitory.

Ron heard Seamus' voice babble groggily, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Ron said nothing. He just pulled out his robes and slammed the trunk back shut. He wasn't going to argue with Seamus. He was in a bad mood. As a matter of a fact, he had been in a bad mood for about a month now. Ever since that arrogant prat started dating Hermione he'd been in a bad mood. He went to bed in a bad mood, and he woke up in a bad mood.

Ron headed into the bathroom and dropped his clothes on the counter. He stripped down and turned on the shower as hot as it could be. He like how the warmth stung his skin. It felt good, like it was rinsing off all of the anger. He proceeded to wash, cursing under his breath.

"That arrogant bastard. What's he doing with Hermione? What's she doing with him? They don't belong together!" Ron angrily rubbed the shampoo into his scalp. It was true that Ron was mad at Hermione before she started dating Josh. But he didn't think that she would sink down to that level. She wasn't what he thought she was. Ron knew the real Hermione. The real bookish, rule-following, homework-doing Hermione. Soon Josh would see it.

But how long would Hermione carry this fake persona? This strange alienated person who's only resemblance to Hermione was her eyes. Her large, brown eyes. The eyes Ron had always tried to be adored in. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the thing he hated the most about Hermione and Josh dating was the way he looked at her. He wanted Hermione to look at him that way. Josh wasn't deserving of such a jewel.

What am I saying? Ron asked himself. Hermione is NOT a jewel. She couldn't be, the way she's been treating me lately. Like I'm some sort of bug that should be stepped on. It was true. Every time Ron saw her since their argument, she'd give him a dirty look. Especially when she was wish Josh, she'd turn up her nose and look away. Like she thinks she's better than me.

Ron stepped out of the shower and started to towel dry his body. After, he got dressed and went back into the dormitory, to see Harry awake on his bed, flipping through a photo album. His hair was mussed and flat on one side, and his pyjamas were wrinkled and twisted.

"Drowning yourself in memories again, eh Harry?" Ron asked, rubbing his hair dry with his towel and making his way over to Harry's bed.

"Wha - oh yeah." Harry smiled and held up a page to show Ron. "I love this picture, of first year. You, me, and Hermione. We were so young, so-"

"Ignorant? Oblivious?" Ron finished, taking the book from Harry.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, you could say that."

He took the book back from Ron and pointed to another photo. "This is my other favorite. At the end of last year."

Ron grimaced as he saw him and Hermione, arms wrapped around each other, beaming at the camera. He remembered how it felt to have her small arm over his shoulder. He also remembered how she didn't know he'd have liked to had his arms around her every day. Forever. He threw the towel over his shoulder and walked to his trunk. He could feel Harry's eyes following him, trying to read his mind.

"Not to be rude mate, but maybe you should just apologize to her." Ron stopped in the middle of opening his trunk. He stood up and looked at Harry with a stony glare, his arms crossed over his chest.

"For doing what Harry? I didn't do anything to her! I just told her the truth. What am I supposed to say? "I'm sorry Hermione, it was wrong of me to tell the truth." No way!" Ron dried his towel with his wand and tossed it haphazardly into his trunk and slammed it shut.

"No, you don't have to say that. Try, "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings Hermione, I just thought there were some things that you should know. I didn't mean for them to upset you."'

Ron made an aggravated noise. "I wasn't trying to be nice by telling her Harry. I meant to say it the way I did. It was the only way she would've listened."

"Whatever you say." Harry shook his head, obviously giving up on the topic. "How about I get dressed and meet you in the Common Room for a game of Wizard Chess, eh?"

"Yeah, sure." Ron walked out of the dormitory, slamming the door behind him.

"Ron? Ron! Wake up!"

Ron lifted his head from the arm of the chair in the Common Room. Harry was standing over him, the fire reflecting on his round glasses.

"Whaddya want Harry?" Ron mumbled groggily rubbing his eyes and checking the clock. 7:30.

"Sorry to interrupt your annual mid-homework nap, but you have to patrol tonight," Harry commented, lifting the rolls of parchment and books from Ron's lap. "C'mon, get up sleepy."

"What you talking about?" Ron asked looking up at Harry.

"It's Hermione's day off, remember? Tuesdays and Thursdays-"

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming."

Ron got up from the chair and pulled his Prefect badge out of his pocket. He pinned it neatly on his robes and checked his pocket to make sure that his wand was there. It was.

"Want me to come with you?" Harry asked. Ron liked Harry to accompany him when he was patrolling. Of course, he wasn't supposed to, but he hadn't gotten in trouble for it yet. Ron got lonely (and though he wouldn't admit it, sometimes scared) wandering the deserted halls at night. Last year he had had patrol nights with Hermione, so they spent the few hours together every week joking and talking about school work. Ron missed it.

"Yeah, sure."

They stepped out of the portrait together. They didn't speak for a few minutes, but as they got to the entrance hall, Harry broke the silence.

"So what are we betting on tonight? How many girls we'll see? Or is it how many stray Bertie Bott's we'll find on the floor?" Harry chuckled, pulling a galleon out of his pocket and flicking it in the air.

Ron and Harry had their patrolling tradition. Every night, they would bet on what they would see, or something that would happen. Whoever was right owed the other five galleons, or three chocolate frogs.

"Ummmmmm, lets have it be…… that we'll catch Cho with her new boyfriend in a broom closet."

"Oh very funny Ron," Harry laughed, his cheeks slightly pink. "Well if you're going to bet that, I'm betting that we find Hermione's boyfriend out after hours."

"Deal."

They shook on it and continued to walk patrol the mostly deserted halls. They had the usual, young pranksters putting dung bombs in the corners, and a few couples kissing in the closets. The castle was silent otherwise, at least until they turned the corner up near the North Tower.

"Oh you know you're better," A husky male voice said from behind a closed door.

"How can I be so sure? You were supposed to have dumped her by now!" A girl protested. Ron and Harry came to a halt, listening, even though they knew it was none of their business.

"I already told you, I'm waiting for the right moment," The male said again, sounded like he'd said the line many times before. "Don't worry sweetie, I'll do it. C'mere."

"I believe you Josh."

Ron's grip tightened on his wand. Josh? Hermione's Josh? He was infuriated that the jerk had even gotten to Hermione in the first place, but now he was hurting her. No one was allowed to hurt Hermione. Anyone but her!

Blinded by his fury, Ron threw open the door. Harry looked surprised it hadn't fallen off of it's hinges.

"Rodehimer!" Ron said angrily. Josh and the girl broke apart. Ron was surprised to see that the girl was in her seventh year, and that girl was Cho Chang.

"Hello Weasley, and Potter," Josh said, nodding towards Ron and then to Harry. Cho was just standing there, red in the face, looking absolutely petrified. "Hey, aren't you the one Hermione's been chatting non-stop about?"

"Wouldn't be surprised," Ron spat. He was about to give Josh the good ol' one-two. Right in his stomach. "But I don't understand why Hermione would date you in the first place. You're a two-timing, insensitive, arrogant, prat who deserves to burn-"

"Look Josh, what Ron means to say," Harry interrupted, hoping to stop Ron before he knocked Josh's head off. He had his hand ready to grab Ron's robes if he tried. Ron couldn't get in trouble on Prefect duty. "Is that if you aren't going to tell Hermione about you and Cho we will."

"You two wouldn't say anything to her. Besides, it's not like she'd believe anything you say, Weasley." Josh turned and smiled at Cho, who smiled weakly back. During the whole argument, her eyes had been nervously flicking back and forth from one person to the next.

"Doesn't it bother you that you're hurting her feelings? Don't you feel guilty at all?" Ron spat, ready to knock Josh out cold.

"Hmmmm, let me check. No," Josh laughed.

"Look, Rodehimer, you'd better get you're slimy ass back to the Ravenclaw Common Room or I'll make sure you have detention into the next century!" Ron yelled. He could feel the head rising into his face. Why did he always have to get so red when he was upset?

"Ohhhhh I'm scared. See you later Weasley," Josh said with a smirk and grabbed Cho, pulling her down the hallway with him.

"That lying son-of-a-bitch doesn't deserve someone like her! I'll kill him, I will. Every part of his body will be lying in a different country-"

"Ron, I think we have more important things to worry about than how you're going to dismantle Josh and where," Harry interrupted, snapping Ron back to his senses. "Like how you're going to tell Hermione."

"You're- me? I'm not telling her!" Ron protested. He couldn't possibly tell Hermione about this, not after that horrible fight they'd had. Besides, he'd decided that he wasn't going to talk to her… for a long time.

"Yes mate, you are."

"But why?" Ron whined, sounding rather childish.

"Well because I couldn't have been here. It was after hours and it was your patrol."

"Yeah, but Hermione wouldn't get us in trouble! C'mon Harry, you know she won't listen to me! It's a waste of time!" Ron had taken off down the hallway in a fit of rage, and Harry was fighting to keep up with him. Ron didn't see Harry's logic. He was supposed to want to help Hermione. And it wouldn't help her at all to hear it from someone she wouldn't speak to. Or look at, for that matter.

"Yeah, well this is just giving you a chance to apologize," Harry said matter-of-factly.

"Apologize for what? Telling the truth? Since when do you apologize for that?"

"We've been through this." Harry sighed and turned the corner. "Besides, you owe me five galleons."

"Excuse me?" Ron asked. "I clearly remember the bet having something to do with finding Cho in a broom closet-"

"-and finding Josh out after hours!" Harry finished, a triumphant look on his face.

"Let's call it even then," Ron said smugly, playfully punching Harry in the arm.

"Your call."

"Duh."

Ron sat in Transfiguration the next day, drawing a less-than-flattering picture of Professor McGonagall. It wasn't that he didn't like her, it was that he'd just not been in a very good mood lately. Plain and simple. So he'd resorted to the easiest means of extracting his rage. Pictures of people who did absolutely nothing wrong.

Ron was just adding tentacles to Professor McGonagall's head when-

"Weasley! Will you pay attention?" His teacher's shrill voice called out into the silent classroom. Ron looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in front of him, her hands placed on her hips and her lips in a thin line. "And what is this that you're drawing?"

Ron scrambled to hide the piece of guilty parchment before his teacher's hands snatched it away. But the thin fingers were too quick and before he knew it, Professor McGonagall was eyeing the parchment with a frown. Ron braced himself for a lecture. But all she said was, "Detention Weasley. Eight o'clock tomorrow. Meet me in my office." And she swept back to the front of the classroom to finish her lesson, Ron's drawing in hand.

He looked over to Hermione, who was eyeing him with that look. The look she gave him when she thought he ought to have known better. Well at least she was looking at him. He sighed and pulled out another piece of parchment to draw a cartoon of Snape in a dress.

"Ah, another picture of cross-dressing Snape. What's on your mind?" Harry asked when they were finally allowed to work out the spell on the board.

"Don't know how to tell Hermione," Ron muttered angrily, coloring Snape's fingernails a frightening shade of pink.

"How about after class?" Harry asked as he changed his peacock feather successfully into a quill.

"I suppose…" Ron said not looking at Harry, his face sliding off of his palm which was being used to hold up his head.

"You're just procrastinating."

"Obviously."

"The sooner you do it, the easier it will be," Harry said, successfully changing his feather again.

"Gimme that!" He snatched Harry's wand, sick of him changing his feather's so perfectly. He was acting like Hermione. And that made him miss her. A lot.

The end of class came all too soon. Ron spent more than the amount of time he needed to put away his belongings, taking care to push in his chair, and walking slowly out of class, pretending to observe the paintings on the wall as if he'd never seen them before.

Unfortunately, Hermione had spilled her inkwell and was taking more time after class cleaning it up. Ron couldn't get out of it. Harry gave him a slight push in Hermione's direction and turned to exit the classroom.

"Uh, Hermione," Ron said nervously, walking up to her side.

"What do you want Ron?" Hermione replied, in a less than friendly manner. Ron winced at her tone, but knew he needed to continue.

"I - uh - well - There's something I need to tell you. I don't think you're going to believe me, but I think that you should know-"

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione snapped, capping her bottle and tossing it into her bag.

"I saw Josh kissing another girl," Ron spouted quickly. Hermione's eyes widened, and she didn't reply. "I was patrolling last night, and I heard noises in the closet so I opened it to tell whoever it was to get back to their dormitory and it was Josh and Cho."

"You liar," Hermione said in a tone of venom. Her eyes were narrowed into slits. "You're just jealous because I could find someone and you couldn't. Don't bother me with you're lies. I don't have the time."

And with that, Hermione swept past him. Ron stared at her back, his mouth gaping open. He rubbed his temples and fell into the closest chair. What was he to do? He put his head down on the desk and became lost in a swirl of crazy thoughts.

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A/N: I know. It's kind of soap opera-ish but it's my plot. And no, lol, the last chapter was not the end. That would've been SO evil if it had been. After all, this is a R/Hr story, not a Hr/OC! Well I hope this answers all your questions about Josh and Hermione. Anyway, this is the last update I'll have before Christmas, and probably for a while as I forsee a quite busy next week (I have Christmas, New Year's (PARTY!), and my one year anniversary with my boyfriend). This chapter was easy to write, because I had lotsa fun writing it, lol!

So consider this an early Christmas gift to you all. Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I love you all! Don't forget to review as your Christmas present to me!