He wondered where Hermione was. He hadn't seen her for the entire morning. In fact, he hadn't seen her since yesterday afternoon, after she faked being sick all of a sudden. Yes faked! Ron knew she made that part about feeling ill up. She was his best friend and he knew whenever she was lying. She never could lie, well except that one time where… anyway. Even Harry was starting to get a bit worried. Of course Ron kept this little revelation from Harry. If Hermione wanted Harry to know, she would have to tell him herself. "Mate, have you seen 'Mione?" he asked Harry. Harry shook his head. "Well, she is sick Ron. Maybe, she's at Madam Pomfrey's," he replied. Ron shook his head. "Checked there in the morning. She's not there," Ron insisted. "Oi, Ginny!" Ron yelled over the table where he saw Ginny. She rolled her eyes and walked towards them. "What Ron!" she said, irritation creeping over her voice. "Have you seen Hermione?" he asked her, politely, knowing fully well that she would not answer him if he asked her rudely. She risked a glance at Harry before replying, "No, not after last night," and walked back to her group of friends.
He looked everywhere! And he still couldn't find her. Suddenly, he had a brain wave. The girl's toilet! He rushed towards the girl's toilet. Though he couldn't stand Moaning Myrtle, he needed to see if Hermione was there. Sure enough, she was sitting in the abandoned toilet, writing something. 'Notes probably,' he thought to himself. "Mione?" he called out. Hermione got a shock and dropped her quill. "Ron! This is the girl's bathroom!" she admonished. Ron just stared at her. "It's an abandoned girl's bathroom, you know," Ron replied. "It's still a girl's bathroom! You know, where girls go to when they want some privacy!" she yelled. "What's up with you? This is what I get for being concerned!" Ron yelled back. "You were concerned?" Hermione asked hastily. "The bleedin' hell I was! You go missing suddenly and I'm not supposed to notice?" he said, his eyes flashing with anger. Hermione kept quiet at that. "What has happened, Hermione? Why are you avoiding us, me?" he asked, gently this time. Of course there was no way she was going to tell him why so she just came with the only excuse she could think of. "Errr… you wouldn't understand, Ron. It's a… private girl thing." He lifted his eyebrow. "I know when you're lying, Hermione," at this she scrunched up her features. "And besides, you aren't due for another two weeks," he added as an afterthought. He immediately regretted saying that as Hermione started to yell again. "RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY! What the…. What did you… How do you know!" Ron felt his ears go red. 'Shite, should have just stuck with the lying excuse', he thought to himself. "Well, you can't expect a guy not to notice when his best friend starts having mood swings every bleedin' (A/N: muahahahaha… no pun intended) month! I've been your best friend for six years!" he yelled back. Hermione's cheeks became red and she was at a loss for words. Grabbing her diary, she pushed past Ron and ran out of the bathroom. Ron considered going after her but left it at that. 'What? All I told her was the truth!' he thought to himself. "Women" he muttered under his breath as he left the bathroom.
December 21st
Oh my god, Sally. He knows! He actually knows when I… you know. What is he! Some kind of pervert! Keeping record of my monthly periods! Do I really get mood swings? Hmmm… am I that obvious? But I think he was just indeed concerned. He is my best friend, even though I wish he could be something more. Maybe he observes my everyday doings, the way I notice his. I mean even if I weren't in love with him, I would still notice! Who can resist that charming smile! Should I tell him? I don't think I should since I just found out myself and everything. But I really need to tell someone! Harry? No, he'd probably tell Ron. Lavender's in the room. Maybe I'll just tell her. Yeah, and the whole school will know about it tomorrow. I know! Ginny! But it will be a bit awkward admitting to someone that you're in love with her brother! Oh Sally, I know I can confide in you. It's just that I need someone solid to spill everything to. What am I talking about? You're not even sentient! You can't even care. You're not even a you! You're an it! Ermmm.. I think I have had enough of ranting.
With that, she closed her diary and settled back into her bed with a sigh. 'Ron,' she thought. 'Of all things to feel for you, why love?
Of course he wanted them to talk things out. It seemed as if he had to just turn away for a second and they would start fighting. 'If only I could do something to break Ron's and Hermione's pride,' Harry thought to himself. He saw Ron walking into the Great Hall and followed him. "What happened? Found Hermione?" Harry asked. Ron grunted and he proceeded to brood. "Harry, why are girls so confusing! First she hates it when I go out with Lavendar and now that I'm single, she's avoiding me!" he said in exasperation. "Well, have you ever considered talking to her about it?" Harry asked. "You've seen us! Barely a minute into a civil conversation and she turns it around!" he spat. Harry just shook his head. "I'm going back to the dorm," Ron sighed. "Hey, what about dinner?" Harry asked. He muttered something that sounded vaguely like 'Not hungry' before disappearing through the doors. "All right, that's it!" Harry said to himself. "A little talk with Hermione now," he continued. 'But it would awkward for me to talk to her. Besides, what if I reveal Ron's secret? Although that wouldn't be such a bad idea,' he thought to himself. A girl with ginger-hair entered the Great Hall, surrounded by her friends and Harry had an idea. Walking over to Ginny, he asked her, "Can I have a word?" Ginny nodded and they retreated to a private corner. Suddenly, Harry was acutely aware of how close he was standing next to Ginny. "Uh… I wanted to tell you, I mean I wanted to ask you…" he fumbled. 'Wait, what was I going to ask her?' he thought. 'Oh right', he remembered and moved on, a little more confident this time. "It's about Ron and Hermione," he finally said. Ginny cocked an eyebrow. "You have to swear that you will never breathe a word of this to anyone else! I made a promise to Ron," he continued, stressing on each and every word. Ginny just nodded her head. Harry smiled and they carried on talking in hushed voices.
Ginny was worried. Not so much about the supposed revelation, she knew there was something going on. No, she really wanted to help Hermione… ok and Ron as well. Ginny sighed with obvious contentment as she recalled how Harry had whispered the secret into her ear. She could still feel his hot breath against the side of her cheek. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she stood up and started to look for Hermione. Suddenly, she heard chuckling. She heard something about 'Weasley' and needed no further prodding to move towards the sound. Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and their group of friends were gathered in a broom's closet. 'A broom's closet! How much more low can they get!" she thought to herself. "So what you're trying to say is that Hermione Granger, that know-it-all Granger, does indeed have a thing going for Ron Weasley," one of the groupies shrieked with laughter. "Well, in love more likely! Finally Lavendar. Revenge is sweet indeed. Now, you can pay Hermione back for stealing Weasley away from you," Parvati said. Lavender did not look happy, probably furious that Hermione could be in love with her boyfriend. "Oops, ex-boyfriend," Ginny corrected herself. "This is going to be so interesting," Lavender muttered before walking out of the room. Ginny ducked quickly to avoid being seen. 'Should I still have that talk with Hermione now? Hermione would just die if she knew that Parvati and her gang knew about her crush,' she thought to herself. She decided to postpone the talk, at least until things blew over. Oh, she had no idea just how blown over things were going to get.
Author's note: I know, probably not the chapter you were looking forward to but I did try my best to make it as interesting as I could. Well, this chapter, I included Ron's, Harry's, Hermione's and even Ginny's thoughts. How did you all find it? Any changes I need to make? Please review k.. thanks. :) Look out for all the whisperings in the next segment.;) I was thinking of making this a four-chapter kinda thing so we'll just see how it turns out.. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)
P.S: I actually don't know Ron's full name. Got this from the back of my brain so if I made a mistake, please correct me aite.. thanks :)