Chapter 4: The night gets worse
Tormented by his thoughts, Ron was way too furious to sleep. Why was his sister so terrible, and his friends such perverts? And why did things always have to be weird for him? He stomped back to the Common Room, where he grumpily slouched down on a couch. Hermione was there, busy practicing transfiguration exercises from class.
She sensed his mood and smiled at him. "I can't believe Ginny." She said quietly.
"How did you know?" Ron asked.
"I saw her storm by." she said.
Ron sighed. "Yeah. She's terrible. I really don't want to talk about it."
"Okay...I understand..."
For a moment Hermione seemed like she had something more to say, but she looked back at her transfiguration notes, leaving Ron staring angrily into space. Gradually the image of a certain violated pillow began to fade from Ron's mind, and he began to feel relaxed and cozy by the warm fire. He picked up a Quidditch magazine on the lounge table and started browsing through the pictures. However, suddenly his eyes caught sight of Hermione.
She was smiling and staring at him in a really curious way.
"What?" he asked quickly.
She looked away, blushing. "Er, nothing."
There was a really awkward pause.
"Ok...There is something." Hermione finally blurted out. "It's been on my mind all day. Has it been in yours?"
"Uh, I don't know...what's been on your mind?" asked Ron.
"Well..." said Hermione slowly. "We're friends right?"
"Ofcourse..." said Ron.
"Ok...l-lately I've been feeling that you've...well...got something important to tell me..." she stuttered, suddenly becoming very interested in the carpet.
"Okay..."
"I just want to let you know that ... if you do have something to ...well... ask me...please don't be afraid to say it straight, okay?"
Ron couldn't think of anything important. Was this about Ginny? She seemed like she want him to have a heart to heart with her about his sister's escapades. Didn't he just tell her he didn't want to talk about it? He really wasn't in the mood.
"Look, Hermione, thanks for being there, but I'm way too tired to go into Ginny's situation right now, ok?"
To his surprise Hermione started laughing. "Not that! Listen....I think it's really sweet, but if you have something to say you don't have to go through all that elaborate...stuff. All you have to do is be honest and say it straight."
Her eyes looked as though he was supposed to catch on, but he still had no idea what the hell she was on about!
Then Hermione did something really strange. She got out of her couch and walked over to where Ron was sitting and slumped right next to him. Their shoulders were touching and Hermione was giving him a playful look, which as beautiful as it was, was making him really uncomfortable.
"Uhhh...Hermione what are you doing???" squeaked Ron uneasily. She smiled again as if he was acting silly, but he was quite sure that she was the one off her knockers right now.
"I'm talking about what you were trying to tell me last night..." she said softly.
"Uh, I don't recall..."
"The whole...seer thing..."
"Yeah, what's that got to do with..."
"A friendship in this room will blossom into something more..." she whispered, her eyes twinkling.
It suddenly dawned upon Ron what she was thinking and an alarm went off in his head. His body suddenly shifted away from Hermione, and her smile disappeared.
"Ok" he said slowly, trying to keep things calm, even though his heart was thumping wildly, and was sure hers was too. "Let's...back up a bit. You think that whole prophecy thing last night was just my weird way of trying to tell you that...I..." he trailed off, at a loss for words.
"W-Well..." she stuttered. "...I mean...I just...."
Hermione's face suddenly went really red. For a moment it looked as though she was fighting back tears. But then, she jumped out of the couch and started pacing back and forth nervously, her eyes unable to match her friend's.
Ron watched her pacing, wishing he had decided to sleep. He felt he would've gladly sunk his face into his Neville butt-print pillow if he had known he would endure this akwardness! What was the proper thing to do?
"Listen...Hermione..." he finally mumbled but was abruptly cut off.
"That was a really sick game to play!" She said shrilly.
"What? I wasn't playing any game!" said Ron heatedly.
"Oh. That's just typical. Why the hell would you say something like that then? What did it mean then?"
"..I don't know...I didn't even know I said it..."
"You don't just make crazy things up like that, okay? Confusing me to death... I was going insane trying to decipher your code all day. You said one friendship would be destroyed. No idea what that was about. But then you said another would blossom into something more....I was sure that we were the only three people in that room last night, which meant three special friendships. You and I, Harry and I, you and Harry." She said quickly, still pacing. "I was pretty sure you didn't want Harry and I to..."
"Ofcourse not!" said Ron angrily.
"So you fancy Harry then????"
"What?????? NOOOOOO!!!!" yelled Ron.
"Well by deduction, I just assumed you were trying to tell me...."
"Look Hermione, I'm really sorry, but I think you're just reading too much into the whole thing."
"Well, that's what I thought!" said Hermione still red. "But then I asked Ginny and..."
Ron stood up. "You asked my slutty sister for advice???? What were you thinking??" he retorted.
"Well she's your sister....she probably knows more about you than anyone else!" retorted Hermione. "I was so sure this was one of those typical crazy things that you do, and I just needed someone to help me understand it!"
"What the hell are you talking about? What crazy stuff?"
"Well....like the Yule Ball, when you got all angry at me when I went with Krum! What was that about?"
"What? That's... you ...if... KRUM'S GROUCHY!! And besides I can't believe you don't believe I made a real prophecy last night."
"Oh, comon! Drop the act! You expect me to believe that? That someone just says 'Ooo...wouldn't it be cool if I was a seer' and it just happens seconds later?" raged Hermione.
"Well ...that's what happened! You said I could tell you anything! What's the use if you don't believe me?" said Ron furiously.
Hermione sighed looking away, her lips trembling. "Look, you know what?" she said defiantly, "You can play your mind games tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight." And with that she turned away and stormed up to her dormitory, hurt and embarrassed.
She's crazy, he thought as he stood there dumbfounded. Yet, he couldn't deny that a part of him thought it wouldn't have been so bad if he had went along with her story.
Tormented by his thoughts, Ron was way too furious to sleep. Why was his sister so terrible, and his friends such perverts? And why did things always have to be weird for him? He stomped back to the Common Room, where he grumpily slouched down on a couch. Hermione was there, busy practicing transfiguration exercises from class.
She sensed his mood and smiled at him. "I can't believe Ginny." She said quietly.
"How did you know?" Ron asked.
"I saw her storm by." she said.
Ron sighed. "Yeah. She's terrible. I really don't want to talk about it."
"Okay...I understand..."
For a moment Hermione seemed like she had something more to say, but she looked back at her transfiguration notes, leaving Ron staring angrily into space. Gradually the image of a certain violated pillow began to fade from Ron's mind, and he began to feel relaxed and cozy by the warm fire. He picked up a Quidditch magazine on the lounge table and started browsing through the pictures. However, suddenly his eyes caught sight of Hermione.
She was smiling and staring at him in a really curious way.
"What?" he asked quickly.
She looked away, blushing. "Er, nothing."
There was a really awkward pause.
"Ok...There is something." Hermione finally blurted out. "It's been on my mind all day. Has it been in yours?"
"Uh, I don't know...what's been on your mind?" asked Ron.
"Well..." said Hermione slowly. "We're friends right?"
"Ofcourse..." said Ron.
"Ok...l-lately I've been feeling that you've...well...got something important to tell me..." she stuttered, suddenly becoming very interested in the carpet.
"Okay..."
"I just want to let you know that ... if you do have something to ...well... ask me...please don't be afraid to say it straight, okay?"
Ron couldn't think of anything important. Was this about Ginny? She seemed like she want him to have a heart to heart with her about his sister's escapades. Didn't he just tell her he didn't want to talk about it? He really wasn't in the mood.
"Look, Hermione, thanks for being there, but I'm way too tired to go into Ginny's situation right now, ok?"
To his surprise Hermione started laughing. "Not that! Listen....I think it's really sweet, but if you have something to say you don't have to go through all that elaborate...stuff. All you have to do is be honest and say it straight."
Her eyes looked as though he was supposed to catch on, but he still had no idea what the hell she was on about!
Then Hermione did something really strange. She got out of her couch and walked over to where Ron was sitting and slumped right next to him. Their shoulders were touching and Hermione was giving him a playful look, which as beautiful as it was, was making him really uncomfortable.
"Uhhh...Hermione what are you doing???" squeaked Ron uneasily. She smiled again as if he was acting silly, but he was quite sure that she was the one off her knockers right now.
"I'm talking about what you were trying to tell me last night..." she said softly.
"Uh, I don't recall..."
"The whole...seer thing..."
"Yeah, what's that got to do with..."
"A friendship in this room will blossom into something more..." she whispered, her eyes twinkling.
It suddenly dawned upon Ron what she was thinking and an alarm went off in his head. His body suddenly shifted away from Hermione, and her smile disappeared.
"Ok" he said slowly, trying to keep things calm, even though his heart was thumping wildly, and was sure hers was too. "Let's...back up a bit. You think that whole prophecy thing last night was just my weird way of trying to tell you that...I..." he trailed off, at a loss for words.
"W-Well..." she stuttered. "...I mean...I just...."
Hermione's face suddenly went really red. For a moment it looked as though she was fighting back tears. But then, she jumped out of the couch and started pacing back and forth nervously, her eyes unable to match her friend's.
Ron watched her pacing, wishing he had decided to sleep. He felt he would've gladly sunk his face into his Neville butt-print pillow if he had known he would endure this akwardness! What was the proper thing to do?
"Listen...Hermione..." he finally mumbled but was abruptly cut off.
"That was a really sick game to play!" She said shrilly.
"What? I wasn't playing any game!" said Ron heatedly.
"Oh. That's just typical. Why the hell would you say something like that then? What did it mean then?"
"..I don't know...I didn't even know I said it..."
"You don't just make crazy things up like that, okay? Confusing me to death... I was going insane trying to decipher your code all day. You said one friendship would be destroyed. No idea what that was about. But then you said another would blossom into something more....I was sure that we were the only three people in that room last night, which meant three special friendships. You and I, Harry and I, you and Harry." She said quickly, still pacing. "I was pretty sure you didn't want Harry and I to..."
"Ofcourse not!" said Ron angrily.
"So you fancy Harry then????"
"What?????? NOOOOOO!!!!" yelled Ron.
"Well by deduction, I just assumed you were trying to tell me...."
"Look Hermione, I'm really sorry, but I think you're just reading too much into the whole thing."
"Well, that's what I thought!" said Hermione still red. "But then I asked Ginny and..."
Ron stood up. "You asked my slutty sister for advice???? What were you thinking??" he retorted.
"Well she's your sister....she probably knows more about you than anyone else!" retorted Hermione. "I was so sure this was one of those typical crazy things that you do, and I just needed someone to help me understand it!"
"What the hell are you talking about? What crazy stuff?"
"Well....like the Yule Ball, when you got all angry at me when I went with Krum! What was that about?"
"What? That's... you ...if... KRUM'S GROUCHY!! And besides I can't believe you don't believe I made a real prophecy last night."
"Oh, comon! Drop the act! You expect me to believe that? That someone just says 'Ooo...wouldn't it be cool if I was a seer' and it just happens seconds later?" raged Hermione.
"Well ...that's what happened! You said I could tell you anything! What's the use if you don't believe me?" said Ron furiously.
Hermione sighed looking away, her lips trembling. "Look, you know what?" she said defiantly, "You can play your mind games tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight." And with that she turned away and stormed up to her dormitory, hurt and embarrassed.
She's crazy, he thought as he stood there dumbfounded. Yet, he couldn't deny that a part of him thought it wouldn't have been so bad if he had went along with her story.