Title: Somebody Who Cares

Author: Brittany

Disclaimer: Everything I don't own is owned by Michele Branch and Co. and JK Rowling and Co. I own nothing. And everything not owned by MB or JKR is owned by AOL and/or Disney, since those biznotches own everything.

Dedication: To JK Rowling. May you write Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince calmly, rationally, descriptively, and quickly!

I wanted to be like you
I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you
And I got swept away

When I first saw Ron Weasley I knew. I don't know if it was the dirt on his nose or the pile of candy beside him, but I could tell that I liked him. Not in a weird, giggly boyfriend way. I mean liked him as in, I could see being mates with him. In our group - Harry, Ron, and I - I've always stood out. Not just because I'm the only girl or because I care ten times more about my grades than Quidditch or practical jokes. Just my way of doing things; being a good girl, never wanting to do anything wrong made me stand miles away from them, who were always sneaking out or up for a good time. I started going along with them in first year with Hagrid's dragon. We could have been expelled if we'd have been caught roaming around the castle at night! Not to mention with an illegal dragon! By second year, I started instigating my own trouble, going into Snape's private potion stores to brew up a Pollyjuice potion... which I suppose also wasn't among the most legal things to be doing. Third year I decked Malfoy. He had it coming, but I'm surprised he didn't tell his dad. After that it all came tumbling out. I'm still a good girl in class, but around those boys, I'm a different woman.

I didn't know that
it was so cold and
you needed someone
to show you the way

So I took your hand and
we figured out that
when the tide comes
I'll take you away

Ron had always been a little lost. He's been overshadowed his whole life with his overachieving brothers, and with his friends at Hogwarts it's been no different. Never being particularly good at school or brilliant at Quidditch made him think he was superior to Harry and me. Not to mention that Harry is after all Harry Potter, and that is a great feat within itself. Ron has always been second best, next in line - the sidekick, if you will with Harry. I guess with me around, it makes him feel like the bronze of the group. I can tell by the way he treats me when we're with Harry and when we're not. With Harry around, Ron's quite surly and rash. We're always in a row. Alone, Ron usually is very kind and boyish… the Ron I saw on the train. Unless, of course, it's after some row we get into around Harry. Then he treats me as if Harry was taking my side, which he usually does not. Like in third year, when Harry had to stay behind at Hogwarts, Ron and I became so close from just spending the afternoon together at Hogsmeade. He told me so much that really opened my eyes to who he is as a person. All he wants, really, is to be good at something all his own and to be known for it. Not as the little brother of him, or the best friend of him… just Ron.

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you
away from here


So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
was somebody who cares

It's not like I sat around and did nothing. Once Ron told me that I was determined to make his dream a reality. I studied with him, I learned more about Quidditch to be able to go over statistics and plays and whatnots (just thinking about that game makes my head spin), and I've always made sure to get an answer or two wrong in the classes I share with him, especially when he knows the answer. I really want to get him out of this rut he's in. He deserves so much more than what he makes himself out to be. Because really, Ron Weasley is amazing.

I'm sinking slowly
So hurry, hold me
Your hand is all I have
to keep me hanging on

Hermione Granger. She must be the most annoying, over achieving, goody-two-shoes person in the world. She's perfect in every way: she never gets an answer wrong in class or homework assignments, she reads ten books a week so she knows a ton more then our whole year put together, she's strong enough to stand up for herself, yet feminine enough to be… well, beautiful. And honestly, I wouldn't have her any other way. Why? She's helped me learn so much about myself and without her I would just be depressed and trodden on. Charlie the Chaser, Bill the Head Boy, Percy the Prefect, Fred and George the masters of fun and games, Ginny the only girl. Oh, and the small one is Ron. He's Harry Potter's best friend… hangs out with that Granger girl, the one who never fails a class. Yes, that's the one. The boy in the shadows…

Please can you tell me
so I can finally see
where you go
when you're gone

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you
away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
was somebody who cares

She really should loosen up some. I reckon a good B- might knock the wind out of her, but in a good way. Maybe one day she'll see that there's more to life than acing every test and knowing every fact. She needs to have some good fun in her life, or else she'll just become this McGonagall-type who is all prissy and rule abiding… cor. It's a really horrible thought, something like that happening to a girl like Hermione; a girl with so much sass and spirit. What she needs is someone who can be what she can't: Someone who will goof around, who won't always have the right answer, who isn't a smarty pants and neat as a pin. I guess she needs someone… someone like me.

All you wanted was sombody who cares
If you need me, you know I'll be there

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading in the common room. She spotted two heads of bright red hair sticking up from two chairs facing the fire. Tired of her book, she headed over to see which of the Weasleys were still up at this hour.

"Hey, Hermione. What're you up so late for?" asked Ginny, who occupied one of the seats.

"Just reading a bit," Hermione answered, holding up her book.

"Typical," Ron teased.

"It wouldn't hurt you to pick up a book now and then, Ron," Hermione teased back. Neither one's remarks got to the other; they both thought themselves right.

"Well, I'm tired," yawned Ginny, who stood and made her way to the girls dormitories. "Turning in soon, Hermione?"

"No, I think I'll sit for a while, thanks."

"Ron, you?"

"No, I'll sit, too."

Hermione opened her book and couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked up and found a pair of brown eyes on her. She wondered if Ron could read her thoughts, as Ron wondered what she was thinking.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" Hermione asked, brushing herself off.

Ron reached over and grabbed her hand to stop her from brushing anymore. Hermione looked into his eyes with a quizzical expression on her face, which had the reflection of the dancing firelight on one side, and the darkness of the common room contrasting the other.

"No, Hermione. You're perfect. Just… perfect," Ron replied with a smile.

Hermione smiled shyly and went back to her book. She continued to read even though she still had the feeling that someone was watching her.

Suddenly, that night in the Gryffindor tower, she realized that someone had been watching her since the day she boarded the scarlet Hogwarts Express. And Hermione Granger could not have felt happier.

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you
away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
is somebody who cares

Please can you tell me
so I can finally see
where you go
when you're gone