The next morning, Ron was awkward. He hardly touched his breakfast and he turned different shades of purple whenever Hermione so much as looked his way. Harry was uncomfortable with the whole thing. He wasn't sure what to do. His two best friends were embarrassed by each other's presence. Fred and George were no help. They sniggered and grinned at everything that was said. Hermione finally left the table.

"Hey, Ron, you better go see what's wrong with your girlfriend!" Fred and George just didn't seem to get it.

"Shut up! Hermione's not my girlfriend! She's just my friend. And Harry's friend. What makes you think I even like her like that?" Ron was red in the ears and it was obvious he was humiliated. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if Hermione was listening.

"Just everything. Getting dressed up, cleaning your room. I thought for sure you were going to ask her to marry you." George was resisting the urge to laugh out loud.

"Besides, I think she likes you back. She got dressed up too, in case you didn't notice. And she seems to be acting different towards you."

Ron relaxed a bit as his expression changed. "You think? You think she might like me? I mean, what do I care?"
Harry could tell Ron was really working hard to keep cool.

"Ron, why don't you go upstairs and talk to Hermione. I bet she wants to clear the air a bit."

"No, Harry. I can't. She's really upset. And anyway, I'm a little embarrassed to talk to her about this." Ron looked desperate. Like a man at the end of his rope.

"Ok, I'll go talk to her, but you have to be right outside the door for moral support."

Ron and Harry made their way upstairs to see Hermione. Ron was wringing his hands and Harry noticed he was chewing his cheek. Harry knocked on Ginny's door.

"Hermione? Are you in there?" There was no response. "Hello?" Harry decided to try the door. It opened and he looked around. Hermione was sitting on the end of Ginny's bed.
"Are you okay? You left the table in a hurry."

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just not as hungry as I thought I was. Fred and George are just too much sometimes. And Ron was just sitting there taking it." Hermione was obviously hurt.

"Well, you know he was embarrassed by the whole thing. His ears looked like they were on fire." Harry decided it was time to stop talking. After all, Ron was right outside the door.

"He should have said something."

"He did right after you left. Maybe he just didn't want to make a scene in front of you."

"Maybe." Hermione looked lost in thought. "Harry, can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry was beginning to worry. Ron was right outside. What if this was about him? "What's it about?"

"It's about Ron." Uh-oh. "I think I have a crush on him but I'm not sure. I've never really had one before so I'm not sure what it feels like. I know you had one on Cho so I thought I'd ask you."

"Well, it's kinda like you enjoy their company and you always want to be around that person, but when you are, you lose ability to speak and think normally. You're so overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings that you forget to act like a human being."

"Yeah. That's what I was afraid of. Please keep this to yourself." Hermione turned to face the other way.

"Sure. No problem. Hey, I'll see you later on. I'm going back downstairs."

"I'll come with you."

"NO! I mean. Just wait here for a second. You need your rest. You had a long day yesterday and you got up real early this morning."

"Right, Harry, you thought I didn't know Ron was behind the door the whole time." She gave him a knowing wink and left the room.