Disclaimer: I own nothing. I'm a loser.
A/N: Woohoo! Chapter four is here! I hope it lives up to your expectations (and it's longer than the others!). Thanks again to my reviewers!
Trixie-chan – The romance is coming!
SailorCrystalMoon15 – Thanks!
Dacey Squidge – Thanks! I didn't want Hermione to lose her fabulous personality either. Glad you approve. :)
Wiccan-One14 – This one is longer! Okay, so not too much longer... but I'm trying!
General K-Star – Glad I could appease your boredom. Sorry it wasn't what you were looking for. ;)
Pullmanlover – Thanks so much!
dracoluver69 – I might just do that. ;)
Ghost – Thanks for the great compliment! I love the fluff too. :)
Lisa Vivian – Thanks! I've never had anyone compare my writing to magic before, and I appreciate it!
mitchie – Yeah, I had it planned all along. ;)
Jenn – Thanks!
Melona – Here's a little Ron-angst for you! :)
luvsirius – I like Lavender and Parvati's fun side too. I didn't want them to be mean. I'll try harder on the longer chapters. ;)
Miercon – This one's a little longer! :)
Liza – Thanks!
madiha – The end is near!
airhead14 – Me too!
HPCara – Stick around and you'll see!
Cordyfan – Thanks! Hope you like this one!
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"So, what did he say?"
Hermione smiled as Ginny sat down across from her at one of the library tables. "Nothing, but I know he wanted to. I 'accidentally' let it slip that I was meeting someone – he doesn't have to know it's you."
Ginny laughed and pulled out her unfinished Transfiguration essay. "Brilliant. It will drive him mad all day. I bet he asks you about it next time he sees you."
"Of course he will!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "He hates it when I keep secrets from him."
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"She's keeping something from me, I know it."
"For the love of Merlin, Ron – stop pacing! I'm trying to concentrate." Harry and Ron had waited until the last possible moment to do their Astronomy homework, and now they were under the gun to get it finished. Unfortunately, Ron was too preoccupied to work.
"What do you think it is? You don't think she's off meeting some... some guy, do you?" Ron looked worried.
Harry put down his quill with a sigh. "I don't know, Ron, okay? What does it matter if she is?"
Ron paused in his pacing long enough to glare at Harry. "It doesn't matter. I just want to know, that's all."
Harry took of his glasses and wearily rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Ron, why don't you just go and find her and ask her what she's doing? Or better yet, tell her that you fancy her and get it over with!"
Ron looked shocked, but not very convincingly. "Fancy her? What are you on about? I don't fancy her! Have you gone mad?"
"No, but I'm about to." Harry picked up his quill again. "Just go somewhere, Ron, before I start throwing things at you."
"Fine. I'll go." Ron grabbed his bag and headed out the portrait hole. "But I don't fancy her!"
Harry nodded without looking up. "Okay, Ron, if you say so."
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Ron was in a foul mood by the time he found Hermione. She was sitting in the courtyard, reading a book and humming softly to herself.
She looked up in surprise when she saw him storming towards her. "Ron, hi. What's wrong?"
He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well? Who is it?"
She frowned. "Who is who?"
"'Who is who?' You know who! Who are you meeting so secretly that you can't even tell your best friends?"
Hermione stood and matched his glare. "You can growl all you want, Ron, but I'm not telling you anything."
Ron's ears reddened as his anger rose. "And why not?"
"Because it's none of your business who I talk to or hang out with! I can see whomever I want to!"
Her eyes were shooting daggers at him, but he ignored common sense and kept on. "So you admit you're seeing someone!"
Hermione looked like she wanted to kick him – or worse. "Oh... oh, bloody hell, Ron! If you want to say something to me, just say it!"
Ron was so surprised that she's sworn at him that it took him a minute to recover. Just tell her you fancy her. But I don't! Liar. You know you do. You love her. Always have. So just tell her!
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione had waited long enough. She cut him off with a slash of her hand, her eyes filled with angry tears. "Forget it, Ron. You lost your chance."
She left him standing there alone.
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Hermione found Ginny flying around the Quidditch Pitch. "We need to talk!" she shouted up to her friend.
Ginny nodded and brought her broom down gently, landing easily in the grass beside Hermione. "What's wrong?"
Hermione felt her eyes fill again. "I had a fight with Ron." She choked back a sob. "He was so angry that I was keeping something from him, and then I got mad because he was mad, and I... I..." She buried her face in her hands and let the tears flow. "Oh, Ginny! I told him that he'd lost his chance!"
Ginny made a sympathetic noise and wrapped her arms around Hermione, leading her to a seat in the stands. "It's okay, 'Mione. We'll make it right."
Hermione shook her head. "No! No, it's not okay! I've ruined everything!" An intense feeling of loss enveloped her. "I can't believe I said that! I actually told him that he'd lost his chance! How could I be so stupid!"
Ginny sighed. "Okay, so our plan backfired. We didn't realize he'd get so angry, but it's not completely ruined, Hermione. It's just a bump in the road – a little mistake." She patted Hermione's shoulder reassuringly. "We just need a new plan."
"No!" Hermione cried. "No more plans!"
Ginny laughed and Hermione looked up at her in surprise. "Don't worry, this is a good plan. No makeovers, no jealousy, just good, old-fashioned flirting."
"What? Are you mad? Me? Flirt? With Ron?" Hermione's eyes widened and her heartbeat sped up in panic. "No way! I can't do that! No! Absolutely not!"
"Come on, Hermione! I'm not saying you throw away your dignity! I'm just saying that you need to make it more obvious to Ron that you fancy him, seeing as he clearly doesn't understand subtlety."
But Hermione was shaking her head again. "No. No, Ginny. I... I can't! There's got to be another way!"
"You mean, other than waiting for him to figure it out himself? I didn't think you had the patience to wait another ten years, Hermione," Ginny smirked. "Come on, can you think of any other way?"
Hermione tried, but drew a blank. I just don't think I can do it. I've always hated the games girls play to get a guy's attention. And now look at me! Caught up right in the middle of one! I don't even recognize myself anymore. Some improvement.
She stood and wiped her face with her sleeve. "I'll think of something, Gin. Even if I do have to wait ten years, I won't lose my self-respect. It's all I've got left." Even if I'm hanging onto it by a thread.
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Ron stormed into the empty common room and kicked a chair over with a frustrated shout. I am the world's biggest idiot! How is it that I always manage to ruin everything?
He threw himself down on a sofa and stared up at the ceiling through his tears. Why did I attack her like that?She has every right to keep her secrets! The truth was, just the thought of Hermione seeing someone else, someone was wasn't him, made him see red.
He knew he had brought this upon himself, but the knowledge only made the pain that much worse. She's right. I've lost my chance with her forever. I waited too long to say something. And now she'll go out with someone else and I'll be left to watch her walk away from me, knowing that I'm the one who drove her away in the first place.
Ron knew that the Gryffindors would be returning from lunch at any minute, but couldn't make himself move. His heart was too heavy to even care. He'd lost the only girl he'd ever loved, and if everyone in the whole world had to see him crying over it, so be it.
If I could just get the chance to tell her I'm sorry, to tell her the truth. Just one chance to tell her I love her.
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A/N: Yay! Only one more chapter to go! I hope you enjoyed this one – please review! It makes me smile. :)