A/N: Oh man, you guys...TALK ABOUT YOUR GUILT TRIPS!!!
Please know that Ron is probably my very favorite character in the book (yeah, it was obvious, PaulaS, but it's okay!), and I wouldn't make him suffer so much unless he was going to redeem himself in a big way! Hang with me guys, even though my chapters are kinda depressing right now-I PROMISE it will be worth it!
Quick notes-Kagome (and whoever else is wondering): I know it was really sudden (the H/G thing), and now that I look back, it doesn't make that much sense to me either. I tried to foreshadow it in the first couple chapters, but then I got caught up in the Ron/Hunter/Hermione thing. Thanks for pointing it out though...
PaulaS: Like I said earlier-it WILL be fixed, and it WILL be good!!! Don't worry :D
Alice Dodgeson: If a guy like Hunter ever asked me out, I would probably punch him. I don't like him either! And I created him....:D
Anyone else I forgot: Thanks for reviewing, I always appreciate it!
On with the chapter!
Chapter 13: The Queen of Hearts
Once Ron returned to the castle, he went up to the dormitory and closed the door behind him, ignoring the stares of the first and second years in the common room. He heard their chattering, but he really wasn't listening. He looked at their faces, but he really didn't see them. He lay down on his four-poster bed and stared up at the ceiling.
What hit him the hardest was that look of pure joy, pure bliss, on her face when Hunter had asked her out. It was as if she only cared for him, no one else…Ron's thoughts flew out of his brain and bounced around the room.
Many a family discussion was spent on Ron's supposed crush on Hermione. His family didn't know it, but he had listened to every conversation from the landing of the staircase. One of Fred's recent comments echoed in his head: "They balance each other out, y'know? Hermione's so serious, sometimes even uptight about grades and school. Ron's…well, not, but he has that ability to make her relax and not take it so seriously. And she wises him up a bit, y'know, snaps him outta that 'idiot' mode he gets himself into sometimes."
Ron knew it was the truth. They were practically made for each other. If he, the "dumb one" could see it, then why couldn't Hermione, the "smart one" see it too? He turned over on his stomach and pounded his pillow in frustration.
A racket sounded from outside the dormitory. It sounded like students were returning from Hogsmeade. The door opened, and Ron heard Seamus, Dean, and Neville talking happily about what they had bought at Zonko's. Ron didn't bother to greet them; he preferred that they thought that he wasn't even there. They soon left for dinner, and Ron sat up, thinking that no one else was there. He was wrong.
"Ron!" He looked over to see Harry sitting on his bed, trying to hide a smile.
"Hey," said Ron weakly.
Harry got up and went to sit by Ron. A moment's silence passed, then Harry said, "…So?"
Ron didn't respond. Instead, he stared at his feet.
"Oooookay," said Harry tentatively. "I'm going down to dinner; most everyone has already. You want to come?"
Ron shook his head silently.
"All right," replied Harry, looking a mix of worried and embarrassed. "See you later." He closed the door behind him.
Ron waited a few minutes, and then decided to venture down to the common room. When he arrived, it was empty. He had a seat in the armchair closest to the fire, and then stood up immediately. He had accidentally sat on a book. He picked up the small, pink book. It looked like a girl's diary.
"Oh, boy," he murmured. He hated moments like this. He checked the common room to be sure that no one was watching, and then he cracked the diary open.
The page it fell open to revealed, not gossip about another girl's wardrobe, but a poem. Ron read:
Falling
Tumbling, bumbling, stumbling down
Falling, sprawling on the ground
Elusive and intrusive things
Fragile as butterfly wings
Daisy petals one by one
Scattered in the summer sun
Does he love me, love me not
Is he burning, is he hot
Can I, am I willing, able
Lay my card upon the table
Will it be the queen of hearts
The place where all the hurting starts
Scrawled at the bottom was a note:
To my one and only. Love forever, Hermione.
"Who is it?" Ron spoke to the book, but there was no answer. He searched the front of the book, but there were only other poems on the preceding pages. He checked the pages following the poem, but there was nothing.
"Wait," he said aloud. This is the last poem written in here, which makes it the most recent…he thought. And her diary was out here-she must have left it, probably today, before the Hogsmeade visit…His thoughts no longer connected. One thing was sure in his mind, though: this poem was definitely about Hunter. There was no doubt about it. Ron sank into the armchair, devastated. He hadn't cried for a long time, but the time seemed to have come again. He buried his face in his hands.
A sob sounded, not from Ron's lips, but from a remote armchair in the corner of the room. Ron stood up and walked over to the chair. He found a young girl (by the looks of her, a first year) with sandy blonde hair and familiar looking hazel eyes, curled up in the chair.
"Hey there," he said softly, crouching down to be at eye-level with the crying girl. "Are you okay?" He'd never really been good with younger kids.
The girl looked at him curiously.
"Bad day?" he said kindly. The girl nodded, looking frightened. Ron noticed a purple bruise blooming under her left eyebrow.
"Ouch, that looks like it hurts," he said, nodding at her eye. "What happened?"
The girl closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Okay, you don't want to talk about it…" Why was he even bothering to befriend this girl?
She spoke. "You're Ron Weasley."
He looked up, surprised. "Yeah…how'd you know?"
"My brother's talked about you before," she replied.
"Oh, who's your brother?" Although he could have guessed…
"Hunter. Hunter McEwan," she replied, looking scared at the sound of his name.
"Oh…well, I hate to admit it, but he's kind of the reason for my rotten day. Er-sorry." He wasn't sure if this comment would offend her.
If she was upset, she didn't show it. "Because he likes Hermione Granger, and so do you?" she asked.
Ron was too astonished to be angry. "Yeah, how'd you know?" he replied, letting his guard down.
She merely shrugged.
"Well…" Ron cast around for something to say. "Do you want to go down to dinner with me? You must be hungry."
She nodded. "Okay."
They stood to go. "My name's Bianca," she said shyly.
"Nice to meet you. I can't say I have any first year friends, so you must be special."
She grinned and then crawled through the portrait hole. Ron began to follow her, but then noticed a piece of parchment left behind on Bianca's armchair. He pocketed it, reminding himself to return it to her later, and then followed Bianca down to the Great Hall, feeling a bit better.
A/N: cowering in fear, once again Please...please...don't hurt me...Come on, who doesn't love Ron? I wouldn't put him through all this if I didn't think he could take it....What doesn't kill you will make you stronger...; ) Now, review while I go and beat myself with a shoe!