Ron woke up on Saturday morning with a mouth full of hair. He jerked his head up and sputtered, trying to get all the hair off and out of his mouth. He looked down groggily and saw Crookshanks curled up on the other side of his pillow.

"Argh, gerroff... stupid cat..." Ron mumbled, pushing Crookshanks off his bed. The dormitory was still dark, only a few rays of pink and orange leaked through the windows. The sounds of faint snores still filled the room. Ron rolled over an tried to go back to sleep, but the morning's smells made it impossible. He gave up after a few minutes, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and drew back his bed hangings. It looked like all the other boys were still sound asleep. After pulling on his robes, Ron tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. Not many people were in the common room, only a few older students that were either having quiet conversations or reading in a corner. Ron glanced at his wrist, forgetting he didn't have a watch. I really need to buy a new one in Hogsmeade today. He thought to himself, slipping out into the corridor. The smell of bacon, toast, and eggs quickly met his nostrils. He yawned and dragged himself down the many flights of stairs that led to the Great Hall.

The overwhelming smells coming from the Great Hall made Ron's mouth water. He immediately crossed the hall and sat down on a bench at the Gryffindor table. His plate was quickly filled, and after his hunger died down after a few helpings, he took a better look at his surroundings. There were a scattered few people around the hall, mainly teachers who wanted a early, fast breakfast before checking assignments for the day. Then he thought her heard Hermione... but she wasn't at the Gryffindor table. He scanned the room and found her sitting at the Slytherin table with Malfoy. Ron sighed. Of course she's there... He thought angrily. He spun back around to his food, but no unable to eat.

Ron didn't know how long he had sat there, just staring at his food. Someone sat down by him. He looked out of the corner of his eye, and to his horror, it was Hermione.

"Are you going to finish your food?" She asked.

"Nnnnnggg..." Was all he managed to reply.

"That's unlike you... turning down food," She said, chuckling.

"... Is there a reason you are here?" Ron suddenly asked coldly, finally letting his anger out. She looked at him with surprise.

"Well, because it's our house table... and... you're my friend," She stated. "Is there something wrong? You've been acting odd lately, Ron. Don't make me worry about you."

"Wrong? Of course there is something bloody wrong!" Ron blurted, his voice rising.

"Wha-,"

"You are going out with that bloody git, Malfoy!" Hermione looked at him silently for a moment, her eyes somewhat glazed over.

"I... didn't think who I was going out with mattered. I thought you'd still be my best friend anyway, Ron. Isn't that what friends are supposed to do? Stick with each other? No matter what? That's what I had thought... but maybe I was wrong," She whispered. "And, if you can't be happy with me and my decision... then maybe we aren't meant to be friends..." At this, she got up and ran out of the hall.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled after. Double bloody hell... dammit! What did I do now? I am so... STUPID! He thought frantically, looking after her. He put his head in his hands. Now she must hate me...

"What did you say to my girlfriend, Weasley?" Someone said, a hint of irritation in their voice. Ron looked up to see Malfoy standing about a foot away from him.

"Piss off, Malfoy," Ron shot at him. Malfoy glared at him for a second and then marched out of the hall. Ron stood up too, muttering, "Gotta find Hermione, gotta find Hermione..." He walked out into the entrance hall, people were beginning to gather there for the trip down to Hogsmeade. As he looked around the crowd, someone grabbed his arm lightly. He spun around to find Parvati by him, a small smile on her face. Ron easily towered over her, her head came up to about his shoulders.

"Hey Ron," She greeted him brightly.

"Oh... hey, Parvati..." He tried to keep an eye out for Hermione, glancing around every few seconds as he stood there with Parvati.

"Were you looking for anyone?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, no, only you," Ron replied lamely.

"Well, I'm here now."

"Yeah... should we get going?" He offered, seeing that the group of people were starting to move toward the door. Filch was placed at the front doors as usual, checking his list, catching any students that were trying to sneak out of the school. Ron and Parvati passed him, she had hooked arms with him. It must have looked very... formal. It sure felt that way. They strolled down the path, surrounded by other students that wanted to get down to Hogsmeade early. Ron couldn't think of anything to say, it was getting more and more awkward by the moment.

"So, Parvati..." Ron started. She gazed up at him. "Do you know the time?" She looked liked she could have fallen over right there, but she remained stable. She stared down at her watch, but didn't answer for a few seconds.

"It's almost nine thirty," She finally said. Wow, I must have been in the Great Hall a long time... Ron thought.

"Where do you want to go today?"

"Well, the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes is always fun. Oh, and there are a few shops that I haven't been in yet that look interesting."

"Sounds good, oh yeah, I have to get a new watch today. If that's okay."

"Sure," She replied, smiling back up at him. Ron felt himself blush and he turned away. Why did this have to be so hard? He wished that he could be here with Hermione instead. Then at least he'd have a better idea of what he would say. Right now he felt like he would rip out his heart to have the chance to take back what he said. He'd rather Hermione be his friend and going out with someone he hated, instead of having her hate him and still be going out with someone he hated.

They entered the village and stopped to discuss where they'd go first. As they stood there, more students flooded into the village and the minutes ticked by. Ron finally spotted Hermione and Malfoy walk into the village, hand in hand. He felt his blood boil. He quickly grabbed Parvati's hand and they were off, looking at the different shops. At first, Ron had to force himself to have a conversation, but after about an hour or so, they were finally comfortable together. Their hands were more relaxed him each others hold and they were able to talk without effort. They had a fun time sharing interests and different memories they had. Ron had almost forgotten about Hermione until him and Parvati walked into the Three Broomsticks.

He walked over to the front counter, ordering two butter beers. As the drinks were getting made, Ron saw Malfoy and Hermione sitting nearby. They, too, were there to enjoy a round of butter beer. Hermione had looked at Ron with interest, but then her gaze flickered away when Malfoy said something to her. Ron took the mugs of the warm butter beer back over to Parvati at their table.

"Thanks," She said gratefully, taking a sip. He sat down by her and took a gulp, too. They sat there in silence, just drinking their butter beer. Ron just sort of stared down at his new watch Parvati had helped him pick out. He felt like he was being watched, but Parvati was still busy with her drink. He scanned the room and saw that Hermione was watching them. He shivered, despite the fact that his beverage was still warm. Even when his gaze met hers, she didn't look away. They just stared at each, until Ron broke eye contact.

"C'mon, Parvati, let's go."

"Already?" She sounded surprised. He put on a fake smile.

"Yeah, we still have Honeydukes to hit. Besides, it's almost time to go back up to the school."

"I guess," She said heavily, sighing. She pushed her mug away and got up. Ron just wanted to get away from Hermione. They stepped out of the Three Broomsticks and made their way over to Honeydukes. Ron checked his pockets, he still had a decent amount of spending money left. When they went into Honeydukes, Parvati quickly took Ron's hand. He knew why, Seamus and Dean were checking out some of the new sweets in the far corner.

"You really like him, don't you?" Ron asked. She blushed and nodded.

"And... you really like Hermione. That's obvious..." She said.

"Yeah..." He replied hollowly. "Hey... I heard those were really good." He guided them over to the area by Seamus. Even if Ron couldn't get Hermione, he wanted something to happen between Parvati and Seamus. It's the least he could do.

By the time they walked out of Honeydukes, Seamus had asked Parvati out. Almost laughable, wasn't it? How jealousy can effect people like that.

"Anyway, I had a great day. I hope you have a good time with Seamus," Ron said.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Ron," Parvati replied. Parvati and Seamus had decided to spend the rest of the afternoon together. Ron was just going to go back up to the school. He had nothing left to do in the village. He walked back to Hogwarts slowly, dragging his feet on the dirt road. He stood in the entrance hall for awhile, just staring at the ceiling.

"Ron..." Someone said from behind. He moved his body to face whoever was there.

"Hermione..." He said in a raspy voice. She stepped closer to him, raising her arms to take his face in her hands. They stayed like that for awhile, until Ron broke down and hugged her. "Sorry..." She tore herself out of his hug and dragged him into a broom closet at the other end of the hall. It was completely dark, but her hands still found his face. She seemed to just caress his face and he closed his eyes. She finally wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. "Hermione... why are you doing this?"

"If I don't... I feel like I might lose it... lose control..." She whispered.

"... Lose... control?" He repeated, confused. "Control of wha-." She cut him off as she pressed her lips to his. He was so shocked that he couldn't move. He couldn't push her away, nothing. He liked it, he had wanted for this to happen to for a long time... but she was going out with someone. This was just wrong.

Before he knew it, she had pulled away from his face and left the broom closet. Left him in the darkness alone. He leaned against the wall and sighed. Hermione wasn't like this. She never had been. There was something more to this than there appeared. And Ron knew it.