Author's Notes: The greatest thing ever has happened to me.

Edited to revise this statement due to Chibikat's false conclusion, based on the previous statement,that I had eloped with John Stamos. The SECOND greatest thing ever has happened to me.

For to an English credit...which contributes to my undergraduate Bachelor of Science...I have to read...

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

I am so excited. I'm going to be breaking out R/H evidence in seminar and everything. Maybe I'll read Harry Potter and Some Sorceror's Rock to the seminarwhile I'm at it.

Okay, anyways, that was all completely off-topic but I had to share my excitement with someone. Enjoy the chapter, andI hope no one's offended by the innuendo in the boys' conversation. I tried to keep it as clean as possible.

The next chapter's a doozy, by the way...it's shaping up to be the longest one I've ever written, I think. Sono one complain that this one is short.


Tuesday, 19 December

11:45 a.m.

Boys are such oblivious, insensitive, stupid pigs. Particularly the ones I know.

Before I go into a rant, though, first of all - hurrah! Ginny got Seeker! I mean, this is sort of a negative thing for me, as that is now one less person I could potentially sit with at Quidditch games, but I'm really very pleased for Ginny. The looks on the twins' faces when she told them were absolutely priceless. And I know Ginny's very excited about it, even though she's sorry to be replacing Harry.

"Don't think he'll mind, do you?" Ginny asked as she, Ron, Neville, and I walked to tonight's DA meeting.

"Well they had to replace him with someone, right? He knew it would happen eventually," I said reasonably.

"Just…you, that's a bit…well, unexpected, isn't it?" said Ron, who was still a bit dumbfounded that his sister could play Quidditch at all.

"Very unexpected. Who knew I could play Quidditch?" Ginny said dryly. "Oh, there's Michael and his friends at the bottom of the stairs…I'm going to go tell him. Meet you guys there, okay?"

Apparently Michael didn't take it very well, though, as Ginny ranted about his lack of enthusiasm about the news for the remainder of the DA meeting.

We reviewed everything we've learned so far, which I think was a very good end-of-term lesson on Harry's part. Afterwards Ron and I helped Harry clean up a bit, but then Harry lingered behind, obviously due to a certain sixth-year Ravenclaw who was also finding every excuse to hang back. Ron and I gracefully bowed out.

Outside the Room of Requirement, Dean and Neville were still standing around, talking about their plans for Christmas. Ron and I stopped and talked to them for a little while, and then a few moments later, we saw Cho's friend Marietta sweep out of the room and brush by us (without a second glance at us nor a "Happy Christmas", might I add). I raised my eyebrows at her and then looked to the boys to see if they'd noticed this obvious rudeness on Marietta's part, but apparently they had not, because when Ron noticed me staring at them with eyebrows raised, he asked me if he had something on his face. Oblivious idiot.

Neville, Dean, Ron, and I started walking back to the Gryffindor common room, and I sort of tuned out for a bit (I was trying to mentally organize everything I wanted to put into my letter to Viktor, which I planned on writing when we got back to the common room). But when I tuned back into the conversation, it had taken a turn for the worse. This is the "boys are pigs" part.

"Marietta Edgecomb? Well sure, she's rather good-looking…most of those Ravenclaw sixth-year girls are," Ron said with a grin.

"She's not very nice though, is she?" Neville said. "I mean, in DA meetings she's always frowning or scowling at somebody."

"Is she?" Dean said mildly. "I don't really look at her face, if you know what I mean."

All three of them snickered.

"Excuse me!" I exclaimed, appalled. "I'm right here!"

"So?" Ron said, sounding puzzled.

I made an exasperated noise, shot him a very dirty look, and then started walking faster to speed ahead of them. I could hear Ron yelling, "What?" after me as I stomped off.

Of all the rude, dirty, insensitive things for them to say... right in front of me, too! Obviously Ron and Dean either failed to realize that such talk is highly inappropriate and offensive to girls, or they failed to realize that I am one. Of course, we must remember that Ron only realized that I am a girl last year; he may still be getting used to the idea (sarcasm).And Dean! You know, once upon a time I had respect for Dean Thomas…once upon a time…and now when I talk to him I'm always going to be worried that he's looking at my…well, you know…ugh.

When Ron, Dean, and Neville got back to the common room I was already scribbling away at my letter to Viktor, and coolly ignored them. Ron gave up on trying to engage me in conversation, shrugged and muttered, "Women," and then settled down on the rug to do his Transfiguration homework (which really shouldn't have been left until 8:00 at night to do, as it took me four hours to finish it this afternoon).

About half an hour later Harry came in, looking dazed. Ron's attempts to talk to him failed. I looked up from my letter in concern, thinking that Harry had had a confrontation with Umbridge or that his scar had started hurting again or something.

"Are you all right, Harry?" I asked in concern.

Harry didn't respond. Then I noticed that he didn't have the look of someone who had just had a horrific vision of Voldemort; he had the look of someone who had just been left in the Room of Requirement alone with his long-time crush …

"Was it Cho?" I asked matter-of-factly. "Did she corner you after the meeting?"

Harry looked surprised. He nodded mutely. Ron sniggered. I gave Ron what I have overheard him refer to as "the death glare", and he shut up.

"So - er - what did she want?" Ron asked casually.

Harry stuttered something incoherent.

"Did you kiss?" I asked.

Ron sat up so fast that his ink bottle went flying and spilled all over the rug. Harry seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, and then nodded. Ron started laughing hysterically, rolling all over the rug. Insensitive wart.

Harry then told us, sounding puzzled, that Cho had been crying when they kissed. Ron's laughter subsided and he frowned.

"Are you that bad at kissing?" he asked.

"Dunno," Harry replied worriedly. "Maybe I am."

"Of course you're not," I said absentmindedly, having returned to my letter.

"How do you know?" Ron asked sharply. Hm. If it hadn't been for Ron's comments about the good-looking Ravenclaw sixth-years earlier, I might have thought his tone was almost…jealous. Anyway, I made it perfectly clear that I have not gone around kissing Harry myself; rather, I knew that he was not bad at kissing because Cho is always crying these days.

When the two of them continued to showcase their utter lack of comprehension of the opposite sex, I set aside my letter with a sigh and patiently explained to them how Cho must be feeling right now: very sad about Cedric, confused and guilty about her feelings for Harry, worried about what people might think if they start going out, etc. The boys were silent and looked dumbfounded at the end of my little speech.

"One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode," said Ron, looking bewildered.

"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon," I retorted, "doesn't mean we all have."

HA. I've been meaning to say that to him for a long time.

I just hope Harry was nice to Cho. But it seems like rather than offering her words of comfort or a shoulder to cry on, he just "sort of patted her on the back a bit". When I asked him whether he's going to see her again, he said that of course he would, because we have DA meetings. Honestly, he's almost as bad as Ron. Almost. At least Harry managed to kiss the girl he likes. Not that I know who the girl Ron likes is, and whether he's managed to kiss her or not…

Anyway.

When I patiently explained what I really meant by "seeing Cho again", Harry panicked and then fell silent. While Harry was contemplating the opportunities now open to him in the Cho department, Ron craned his neck to try to read the part of my letter which was trailing on the floor near him (it was quite long by then). I hitched it out of his sight. You'd think he would have learned his lesson about trying to read my private things after the whole diary/journal incident.

"Who're you writing that novel to, anyway?" he demanded.

I usually wouldn't dignify that question with an answer, but after his almost-jealous tone earlier, I think I subconsciously wanted to see his reaction. "Viktor."

"Krum?"

"How many other Viktors do we know?" I said coolly.

Ron said nothing and looked disgruntled as he returned to his Transfiguration homework, and I felt satisfied, though guilty for stooping to such a level. This has to stop; I'll never reach emotional satisfaction if I keep goading Ron and overanalyzing certain things he says/does and wondering about his kissing history.

Anyway, I finished my letter while Harry stared at the fire hopefully, as if willing a solution to his girl troubles to appear in the fireplace. I bid the two hopeless causes goodnight and then headed upstairs.

It was a good thing that Lavender and Parvati were already asleep, because I may have been tempted to have a bit of a "boys are stupid" rant session with them, and I refuse to stoop to their level of boy-bashing and giggling. Really, though…there's Dean with his pigheaded comments and wandering eyes, Harry with his complete cluelessness, and Ron with his insensitive, oblivious, ignorant stupidity. The only member of the opposite sex who proved to be somewhat intelligent tonight was good old Neville. Then there's always Viktor…smart, sensitive, reliable Viktor who writes me faithfully and doesn't mind reading my long-winded letters about trivial things at Hogwarts, even though he's an international Quidditch star.

You know, maybe Mum's right. I know I told Viktor when he left last year that I'd rather just be friends for now, but…maybe I should…you know…not let Viktor get away. He is terribly nice, and he's not at all like the immature prats around here. Yes…maybe this summer, if he comes to England to visit, like he keeps saying he will…well, we'll see what happens.

All right, time for bed. Maybe the boys around here will have gotten less stupid by morning.

1:02 a.m.

If Ron had kissed some girl, he would have told Harry and I about it, right? And Ron wouldn't have been so curious and whatnot about Harry's kissing experience if he had kissing experience himself, right? And if Ron liked some girl, we would know about it, right? I mean, Harry never told us outright that he fancied Cho, but it was rather obvious. But Ron did say tonight that the sixth-year Ravenclaws are all good-looking…ugh, maybe he likes Marietta Edgecomb

No, no, no! I am not going to dwell on this!

1:16 a.m.

He did sound rather jealous when he thought I'd been snogging Harry or something, though. Maybe…

No! GO TO BED!

1:20 a.m.

Yuck, how could he think I'd snogged Harry? No offense to Harry, but just…no.