'Ron, how could you?" Hermione squealed, as she tore down the steps leading to the lake. It was a crisp fall morning and her bronze hair shone like gold in the mid-morning sun. Ron Weasly and Harry Potter, her two best friends panted behind her, unsuccesfully trying to keep up with her fast pace.

"Hermione, I was only kidding, Bloody hell!" Ron cried, trying to get her to slow down. His attempts proved vain, as Hermione only sped up, trying to get as far away from those two as humanly possible.

"You LIAR! How could you say something like that, I-i argh!" She began to cry, tears spilling down the front of her robes, slowing her down just enough to let Ron catch her. Putting on a burst of speed, Ron ran up to Hermonie, his long gangly legs giving him an advantage over her. He grabbed her wrist, firmly yet gently as to not leave a mark, and pulled her to a stop. Harry puffed his way up the slight incline by Hagrid's hut, coming to a stop right in front of Hermione.

"Gosh, Hermione, he didn't mean it. Calm down, and please stop running!" Harry panted, reffering to the scene that had just occured in the Great hall at breakfast.

"NO," She yelled, prying her hand loose from Ron's grip. " I don't BELIEVE you, I thought you were my friend, all these years and-" Hermione started to rant but was cut off by Ron's interjection.

"Hermione! Didn't you see me wink at Fred and George when I said you were a bushy-haired know-it-all? Do you really think I would say those things?" Ron bursted out, Hermione swept her head upward so she was looking up at Ron's face.

"But, but what about, you said I was a mudblood, I heard you, you were standing around the Slytherin table, and-and I heard you say it." She said, tears threatening to fall from her light brown eyes. Ron gaped, staring open mouthed at her, not believeing a word she said.

"Hermione, I wasn't- I-I didn't call you that. Malfoy had been making fun of you, you know, about how smart you are and stuff, and I just had to get my say in. I asked him if he was afraid that the little mudblood, as he calls you, had shown him up in all of his o.w.l.'s." Hermione blushed. Ron thought she was smart, as she thought of Ron,her stomach did a small flip. Ron, with his bright orange hair, and constant clumsiness. There was just something about him that made her feel different, that made her shy. Her face as red as a beet, from sheer embarassment, Hermione choked out a few words, despite her steady flow of tears.

"I- oh." She sputtered out, covering her face with her hands, she looked at the ground. After a few seconds, she sniffed and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Looking up again, Hermione found herself looking directly into Ron's eyes. She quickly averted her gaze, looking down at her own tie.

"See, no harm done. Um..guys, I gotta go back up to the castle, sorry but I have some business to attend to.. .er," Harry cleared his throat and cast Ron a meaningful glance. "So I'll talk to you later, by Hermione." He said, patting his friend on the back and trudging up the stairs again, the great oak doors swinging open to meet him.

Hermione's gaze followed Harry's footsteps but returned to Ron's face when he had gone. Looking down towards his collar, not being able to meet his gaze. Hermione gulped and then looked up into Ron's face, using every ounce of strength she had to look him in the eye.

"Thank you . I mean for standing up for me to Malfoy. It was-" She didn't finish her sentance, Ron looked down at her, his eyes glinting in the sunshine. A small smile played at his face, yet the tips of his ears were plainly pink.

"Welcome. But, um.. did you really think that I would call you a mudblood?" He asked, biting his lower lip, a searching look upon his face. Hermione didn't know what to say, well she did know, but what if it came out the wrong way? There were many things she wasn't sure about with Ron, but she always knew he was her friend. Taking a deep breath, Hermione exhaled and looked over Ron's shoulder, at the gigantic pumpkins growing in Hagrid's pumpkin patch.

"No, um.....I didn't even think that you would call me a mudblood either. I just, I guess he was just getting so on my nerves, and there's all this stress right now, with the N.E.W.T.S. next year and all, I just wasn't really thinking." Hermione could hear Ron let out a sigh of relief. Her stomache gave that twisting, flipping sensation again, making her heartbeat two times faster. Looking up, Hermione saw Ron's eyes on her, yet when she looked upon his astounded face, he quickly looked away.

"Wait, did you just say you weren't thinking? Hermione Granger, genius extrordiaire , was not thinking for one second? OH, the horror." Ron made a gagging sound as if he was dieing, only to be slapped in the back of the head by something that felt oodly like a backpack.

'OUCH!" He said, ducking another blow from Hermione's bookbag. When he looked back at her, Ron realized that she was laughing, her sides heaving with exhaustion and laughter.

"That wasn't very nice mister, you may not know it but I am not always thinking about schoolwork, a lot of the time I'm to busy concentrating on other more important things like-"Hermione stopped herself. Other important things like you, she almost said. Hermione didn't know what she would have done if that had slipped out, everything would be a wreck. He could never know that, not unless he liked her. Like that'll ever happen Granger, Hermione thought to herself, not trusting herself to keep her composure while thinking what would happen if he did.

Straightening up, she looked up at Ron before walking off, over towards the lake, not wanting to go inside on a fine October day like this. Behind her Hermione heard the sounds of Ron coming up behind her, his long legs gaining ground, bringing him to stride right next to her. Out of her Peripheral Vision, she saw him absentmindedly running his hands through his short, orange-red hair, occasionally pulling out a stray leaf here and there.

His hair almost exactly matched the orange of the leaves he was pulling out, Hermione chuckled silently at the thought. She had always been mesmirised by his hair, how could it be so orange? Sure Susan Bones had red hair, but no one Hermione had ever seen had had actual orange hair like the Weasley's. For three long years she had yearned to run her hands through his roughly cut hair, wondering what it felt like. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Hermione became increasingly aware of how close Ron was to her. His arm brushed against her's once in awhile, making the little hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Everytime this happened, Hermione could feel herself growing steadily redder, imagining that soon she would be as bright red as a real tomato, she moved a tiny bit to the left, continuing to walk in her constant direction, towards the lake.