Queen of the Paperclips: glad that was taken care of, I personally don't like boy boy stuff anyway.

v son sayian: glad to know the angst is as good to read as to write.

A royal telling off

"It may seem logical, but how can he talk like that Ron?" Hermione asked walking in step with him. "Or any of them actually, I mean they seem so ruthless and perhaps even cutthroat." She added gnawing on her bottom lip as her mind was struck by different ideas and points of view.

"It's all in how you grow up." Ron replied with a shrug, showing Hermione thought an ounce of intelligence. "After all they grew up in a situation completely different then our own, it affects their physiology."

"True..." Hermione pondered, why, though, was he acting like this all of a sudden? "And where did you come up with something as intriguingly intelligent as that?"

A guarded, almost jealous, look passed over Ron's face for a second; there she went treating him like some stupid idiot. "If I was Ryou!...."

"That's not it!" Hermione countered, coming to a dead stop in the middle of the crowded hall. "It's just that you've been acting so babyish lately that it was a surprise for you to actually act like a human being for a change." After the words had slipped out she realized how wrong they had been.

"I've been babyish have I? What about you and your poor Ryou huddling up in those deep conversations of yours?" Ron snapped his reply, his face becoming slightly flushed in his rage.

"The two love birds fighting?" Came the silky unwelcome voice of Draco Malfoy from right behind them.

Ron whirled around, immediately on the defensive. "Shut up Malfoy! Pug Parkinson making Hermione look attractive?" the second set of words just sort of flew out of his mouth before Ron could stop them, and he quickly glanced back at Hermione his ears turning a slight ting of red that quickly deepened.

Hermione was standing there aghast. "Ron." She was furious, but managed to control her voice in front of Malfoy. "I believe we have something to discus." She added dragging Ron off down the hall and through the crowd of students to their next class.

Draco watched them flee with barely retained glee. Smirking he followed slowly; he did, after all, share Transfiguration with them.

"Never..." Hermione's voice shook slightly with rage. It was after Transfiguration and Ron was now breathing what he believed might be his last breaths. Hermione had cornered him in an empty classroom away from the noise and bustle of the outside world.

"Look. I'm sorry Hermione!" Ron looked at her pleadingly. "I'm sorry for any innuendo I might have implied..."

"Ronald Weasley!" she wasn't giving in and Ron winced at the use of his full name. "I don't believe you realize the seriousness of your comment!" She continued not loosing any momentum despite, or perhaps because of, his piteous looks. "I don't know how easy the rest of the female population of Hogwarts might be! But no one shall refer to me in such a manner! Not even you...." she finally trailed off out of breath.

"Is anything wrong?" Ginny of all people asked, Ron was about to die of embarrassment. She had obviously heard Hermione's yells from out in the hall and had wanted to see who she was so angry at. The look on her face also gave away her mind on the fact it had been her older brother, it was no surprise to her.

"Can't anyone get some privacy?" Ron snapped, it was after all only his little sister who had just walked in of him being told off by Hermione. Yes it being Hermione did make a big difference to him.

"Guess not." Ginny replied. Normally it would have been ok to say such a thing, but in this mood, Ron imagined arrogance dripping off ever syllable.

"Ginny!.." he had been about to reply to her imagined smugness, but then felt pressure on his arm.

"Ron, don't...." it was Hermione. "I didn't realize my speech would have you so upset. I'm sorry...."

"She's..." Ron took a deep breath, pulling back from the plunge, restraining the tirade he had been preparing to send at Ginny. "It's a little late for that." He gave up, did absolutely everyone think him childish, a weakling, a dog who couldn't bight back?

"Ron?" she now sounded a little worried.

"No! Save your breath, I'm leaving." He cut her off pushing past Ginny and out the open door. After all the longer he hung around the larger of a fool Hermione would think him. Closing the door behind him he heard only the begging of Ginny's bewildered sentence. "What's?"

Stomping off in a fume Ron pushed past a crowd of first years, stepping on a few toes, and cursing under his breath once or twice. He was just an oaf wasn't he... he had tried for better. Tried and failed.