Title: I Give Up

Author: Perkey Terkey

Summary: Hermione and Ron have a 'usual' argument about Hermione's new boy friend but what happens when Ron takes it to far? How will they deal with the end of there friendship? Will they ever make up? Answers inside Hr/OC LB/RW Hr/RW GW/DT GW/HP

In the Gryffindor common room, at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry, sat two boys. At first glance you wouldn't think anything of the two they just sat playing a particularly violent game of chess. One of the boys, with raven hair and almond shaped deep green eyes, flinched as his opponent, a boy with more freckles than room on his face and shockingly red hair, forced the white queen to do battle with a black Knight. Harry Potter ducked as the queen chucked his knight towards his face.

"Bad mood, mate?" questioned Harry, taking a quick look in his friend's direction, "knight too E4"

Ron Weasley scowled as he watched Harry's one remaining knight move across the board.

"No, why should I be?" He retorted not quiet meeting his friend's emerald eyes "pawn to F6."

"Oh just because our friend Hermione is on a date with the keeper and captain of Ravenclaw who is older, smarter, and better looking than you oh and the head boy." He smirked as he checked the things off on his hand. "Well according to my source anyway but she may be a little biased, king to B5."

Harry's words had the intended effect on his friend, his face turned red from anger and even his blue eyes seemed to darken with fury. But the Raven-haired boys pronounced smirk disappeared almost instantly when, despite the red in his face, Ron spoke with absolute calm, which unnerved Harry.

"And why would that bother me?" he replied giving Harry a quick warning glance that clearly said 'leave it'. Harry probably would have taken the hint had it not been the following events making Harry very reckless- at that very moment Ginny Weasley began to kiss her boyfriend Dean Thomas as Harry resisted the sudden urge to kill Dean and, as he'd just about managed this, Ron decided to shout check mate at the top of his lungs.

Harry felt his blood boil, the injustice of it all, and the fact that he knew that he had no right to feel so angry at all this made him even angrier. In fact he was so angry he didn't notice the portrait hole open behind him or the fact that his best friend had paled considerably. All he knew was that he wanted revenge…

"Because you love her." Ron just gaped at Harry even his freckles seemed to pale but then his gaze went over Harry's shoulder and to the girl standing directly behind him.

"Who do you love?" said her sweet voice, Harry's eyes widened in horror. I'll kill you later Potter! Thought Ron through his own horror

"Who do you love?" She repeated teasingly. You.

"No-one" He'd said that to quickly and he knew she would never fall for it. Stupid brain, stupid brain! "Ooh not going to tell me are you, then I'll have to find out myself, wont I?"

That was a threat. She couldn't do that. Could she? Help me.

"And how, tell me, would you do that?" He answered with confidence he didn't know he possessed. Hermione smirked at him with an air of someone enjoying herself immensely.

"I have my sources," she said, stroking Harry's untidy hair with a satisfied smirk. Harry's guilty look turned to that of terror so quickly it was as if a bolt of lightening had flashed it there." So Harry," she began slyly looking pointedly at Ron, "who, tell me, is Ron in love with?" Harry's eyes widened at every word and Ron could see him overheating.

"He told you Hermione," he said complacently.

"He did?" her eyes know resting on Harry.

"Yeah he said no-one, he doesn't like any one"

Hermione didn't seem to thinking this little 'conversation' was going to plan. The whole common room seemed to hold its breath.

"Fine." She said. Her smirk now gone replaced by that of someone doing a lot of thinking, her gaze resting on the only two people who hadn't stopped to look at them- Ginny and Dean "I have other sources" she then made to go towards them. But Ron beat her to it with amazing speed he ripped Dean from on top of Ginny and taken up the job of shouting at them at the top of his voice. Hermione removed her gaze from the hilarious scene and looked at Harry.

"Who is she?" with a new urgency. He suddenly couldn't help wishing he didn't have to lie to her, his best friend, so he resigned to simply shaking his head. They turned to watch the final stages of the battle that was taking place, Dean was being held up by his collar in Ron's left hand because his right hand was to occupied keeping Ginny from ripping out his red hair. But then it came to a crashing end, when whipping out her wand with the speed of a cat bringing out its claws Ginny hexed Ron. Pointing her wand directly at Ron's face…

Ron returned a minuet later rubbing his nose, muttering under his breath. They made there way over to the fire. While Ron shot death glares at Ginny and Dean who had resumed there kissing.

"So how was your day?" Hermione asked.

"It was ok, I guess." Harry stated shooting a quick glance at Ginny from across the table. "How was your day, Hermione?" Ron said forcibly. Harry ripped his eyes back to his best friends he knew exactly what Ron had been getting at, but unfortunately no matter how smart his best friend was she could not receive the subliminal warnings Harry was sending her. One word answer. One word answer. Just say fine

" Oh, I had such a nice time with Franklin, he's such a gentlemen and I had such an intellectual talk to him about S.P.E.W… wait, what's so funny?" The two boys where currently rolling about on the floor.

"Fr…an…klin?" stuttered Harry through his own laughter "that's what Ravenclaw's, famous, quidditch defender is called!" Ron snorted at this; Hermione however was tapping her foot waiting for their raucous laughter to subside. One look from her made Ron stop laughing immediately. Harry however kept laughing and for good reason, him being the captain of gryffindor quidditch team meant that he was as against 'Franklin' as he should be- owing to the fact gryffindor still didn't have a finalised team. His laughter was ceased only when a pretty red head leaned over him asking him, what exactly was so funny, and he told her so in his coldest voice (he still hadn't forgotten she'd just been playing tonsil tennis with Dean Thomas). Ginny gave him a questioning look and asked Hermione how her date had gone, and to Harry and Ron's horror Hermione went into a detailed account about the day they'd had together, including a full dialogue list and squeals. "…And then he said that, because it wasn't really a proper date that next time he'd take me to Hogsmead and buy me a really expensive gift!" She told Ginny after ten minuets of how fantastic there date had been, honestly Harry felt sickened. But across the table from him sat a boy who looked as if with every perky word Hermione spoke had torn out his heart. Though if she had noticed this she neither cared nor acknowledged it and as her last piece of story left her lips Ron flinched as if his heart had broken into a hundred pieces. " So then he kisses my hand leans into me, and Gin I thought he was actually going to kiss me, properly, and I was going to let him, but instead he whispers in my ear that I was like a swan elegant and beautiful and he said he said he was so lucky to find a girl like me." Sighs escaped both girls' mouths.

"He sold you that crap, and you bought it?" Ron began, as Harry sank lower in his chair, now he'd done it he'd ruined there moment. " I thought you where smart Hermione. Don't you get it he doesn't care! He wouldn't give you a second glance if you hadn't done that makeover over the holidays! Why'd you do that anyways?"

Every occupant of the common room had there eyes on Hermione she'd been extremely touchy about her new look. It had all started when Hermione had turned up on the first day back looking anything but Hermione. She'd looked, in Ron's own words, like a girl. It had been the source of a few semi-explosive rows in the week that had past since. So here everyone sat waiting for Hermione's explosion, it however never came. Instead she looked him up and down and for one very scary moment Ron thought she was squaring him up to fight, but then her words came full of emotion as she looked directly into his eyes. "How could you say something like that?" Ron felt his heart sink- he'd hurt her and bad what was he going to do? Apologise maybe she would forgive him then? But, then again, that idiot Franklin Smith was such a piece of dragon dung what could she possibly see in him? He didn't deserve her; all he knew was that Hermione had turned up all good looking this year. He couldn't know all the stuff about Hermione that only he knew. Like the fact she'd made herself think that she had all the answers and the way only a few things could make her truly smile he prided himself at being one of those things. Ron wasn't about to let Smith just take all that away, was he? So he turned to Hermione who was still looking at him with those sad eyes-he had this great speech about how Hermione was to perfect for that git of a keeper. But unfortunately nothing ever goes to plan and by the time those words had gotten any where near his mouth he'd forgotten what he' first set out to say and could only remember jumbled parts of it. "What else could he possibly see in you, apart from the fact that your wear low tops and short skirts! He couldn't possibly like you because your smart, well unless he wants you to do his homework for him he has got N.E.W.T's this year." As gasps ran through the room and the words he'd just said ran through his head like a lightening bolt he felt awful. He wanted more than ever to shout that he loved Hermione Granger and it would never be any different. He removed his gaze from his feet and turned it up to Hermione.

"I didn't mean that it just came…"

"It had to have come from somewhere," she said tearfully

"No…"

"Its over I give up"

"What?"

"Our friendship. I can't do this anymore." She stated wiping a tear from her eye

She walked up to him planting a kiss on his cheek she spoke one last thing to him before she went to bed "I cant be friends with someone who'd think such awful things about me." She said this all very soberly. She turned, a tear went down her cheek unseen to any behind her; because she knew she was walking away from the one to which her heart would always belong.