Chapter Four: Phone Games and Flying Cushions
"Hi, Padma. Yeah, I'm brilliant, you?"
Hermione clutched the cushion in her lap tightly and watched Ron talking on her house phone through narrowed eyes. Ginny was staring at Hermione sympathetically from her seat on the floor beside the fireplace.
"Okay, okay, I'll see you later, okay." Ron was standing by the window with his back to Hermione and Ginny, which was fortunate as he would probably have questioned Hermione's angry glares.
"What? Oh thanks honey! No, no, okay, no you hang up, no you! Okay, okay, one...two...three."
He turned quickly to Hermione and Ginny and signalled to them to stay quiet. Hermione's eyes were in danger of getting stuck in the back of her head, she was rolling them so often.
"Well, you didn't hang up either!" Ron laughed after a moment of silent waiting, walking over and sitting beside Hermione on the sofa. "Okay, no, yes, no you hang up! No! You, you, you-"
In a fit of rage Hermione grabbed the phone out of Ron's hand and hung up for him. She handed it back to a very shocked looking Ron.
"Hermione, what the-"
"Oh, sorry!" Hermione said, trying hard to look genuinely apologetic, "I thought you were talking to me!"
Ron smiled at her, "It's okay, I'll just call her back!"
He got up and walked into the hall, dialling Padma's number in the phone.
"Great! You do that!" Hermione muttered angrily, standing up and flinging her cushion hard across the room.
She made her way towards Ginny and fell down on the floor beside her. "Ginny, how did this happen to me? How?! A week, two weeks ago, I was fine! Ron was just....Ron, just my best friend. But now he's Ron! A really great person that I can't have!"
Ginny patted Hermione on the shoulder, "I wanted you to have him too."
"I know you did," Hermione said depressingly, "I know. I'll just have to deal with it."
At that point they were interrupted by Ron walking back into the room and making kissy noises down the phone to Padma.
Hermione bolted up. "I've got to get out of here!" she announced, rubbing her head stressfully, "I'm going for a walk, see you later."