A/N I know it's been a while since I updated…all I can say is…sorry. Hopefully you'll like this chapter.

As the bus rolled to a stop in front of Hermione and Ron, they both got up from their seats at the bus stop and pulled out their bus passes. Hermione's of course, was authentic and legitimate, whereas Ron's was very much fake.

"Finally." Ron muttered, observing that the bus had been ten minutes late. Him and Hermione had spent the last fifteen minutes at the bus stop, bickering over yet another trivial point – the fact that Ron had not yet finished his Geography coursework due in two days time.

Once the conductor had allowed them on the bus, both teenagers made their way to the stairs and began to go up to the top deck. All the while Hermione was still muttering to Ron about his coursework, chastising him for leaving it so late. She was the first to reach the top and to her surprise found Viktor Krum sitting by himself in a corner back seat.

"Viktor? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, with a slightly toothy smile on her face, Ron's annoying presence quickly slipping from her mind. Viktor was a very talented football player from Bulgaria. He had moved to Whitefield Secondary School in London for 6th form (his 12th year), due to the tragic deaths of his parents in a freak accident involving an unhinged Ferris Wheel, leaving him with no family and a huge desire to leave Bulgaria, where his memories remained.

Whitefield was a pretty shifty school and its students were what gave the school its reputation…but it could be said that Krum was a bit misunderstood. Being the star player of their football team and a young player for Arsenal, he drew a lot of attention to himself; however this attention wasn't always wanted. The media presented him as an arrogant and self-assured boy. This wasn't a very accurate representation. He had a much softer and more insecure side, which Hermione, being the smart one of the bunch, had been quick to pinpoint when Krum's team had visited St. Christopher's School for a match two years ago. Viktor Krum, who noticed her noticing, took interest in her and somewhat timidly, began to try his luck at making her like him rather than notice him. After all, who was he to reject attention from a pretty young lady such as Hermione?

Some time later, when Hermione arrived at the Christmas Ball with Krum, it came out in the open that Hermione and Krum had started a relationship. All of this was to Ron's great annoyance, and Krum, who had once held a place on his Most-Talented-And-Adored List, quickly moved to Ron's Get-Ready-To-Pounce List. In Ron's eyes, it was a betrayal for Hermione to be with someone who was in an opposing team to Harry's team in St. Christopher's; although, most people's opinion was that this was not the real reason Ron was so irritated and there was another reason lying beneath it all.

Due to Ron's constant bickering and pestering, Hermione finally gave in and called it quits with Krum. She wasn't the type of girl to ruin a friendship over a temporary relationship with a boy, however exasperating and infuriating that friendship might be. She and Krum ended peacefully and both decided to stay friends. However, as expected, they lost contact over time. Even after all this, she had never truly gotten over her first boyfriend.

While walking down the aisle on the bus, Hermione quickly glanced back only to find Ron rolling his eyes, and then narrowing them. She felt her anger rise but she forced herself to be calm, what with Viktor being there and everything. She settled for giving Ron one small glare and then turning her attention back on Viktor. Hermione quickly seated herself in front of him and turned her body so they were face-to-face. Ron went to the other side of the aisle and slumped into the seat by the window, looking frustrated.

"Uh…hi Her-my-own-ee. I was just at a friend's house. What you doing here?" Viktor asked in his thick Bulgarian accent.

"Oh we were just at some big Halloween house party thing." Hermione replied, not taking the huge smile off her face, and now absent-mindedly playing with a loose strand of her hair. She felt both giddy and slightly self-conscious at seeing him again. It had been a while.

"Was it good? I know the DJ who was there. He wasn't that excited…said it would just be some kids' stuff…that's bout it." Viktor said.

"Yeah well…you're right. It wasn't all that, was it Ron?" Hermione asked, trying to get Ron to join the conversation since she couldn't think of what to say next.

"Nah" was his abrupt answer, while he was still staring outside the steamed up window. Hermione was annoyed at Ron's rude behaviour in front of Viktor, not that it was any different to how he acted before. Thankfully, she didn't think he noticed since he started talking about something else. Hermione was glad that Viktor was a good talker because she was pretty much drawing a blank in conversation-starters.

Ten minutes into the conversation, Hermione thought she faintly heard Ron call her name, but she ignored it and carried on talking.

"Hermione. Granger!" Ron finally lost his already stretched patience.

"What!" Hermione yelped at finally hearing her surname, disgruntled by his tone of voice.

"We've gotta get off! It's our stop.". Hermione could see an angry red tint to the colour of his skin and ears.

"Alright! You could've just said." Hermione muttered the last part, while she got up and moved to stand behind Ron.

"I was trying! But you were too busy in your little conversation to even realise I called your bloody name!" Ron shouted over his shoulder while he was walking down the aisle towards the stairs.

"You know you should seriously think about getting yourself another girlfriend Ron. You're becoming really cranky!" Hermione shouted as they were walking down the stairs. Ron unexpectedly turned on her, becoming eye-to-eye with her.

"Well you should start getting out more rather than staying in all the time. Maybe you'd learn how to talk to guys without twirling a piece of hair around your fingers!" There was anger flowing out of his stare along with something else Hermione couldn't quite put her finger on.

"What's the matter Ron? Jealous?" Hermione retorted with a smirk. She obviously didn't believe it; she just wanted to say something that would get under his skin. There was a pause.

"Yeah and pigs can fly!" he said in a mocking voice. "As if I'd look at you like that! Sorry Hermione but you're too much of a bore for my taste."

"Oh yeah!"

"Yeah!" Ron stared intensely into her eyes for a good full minute. At this point, Hermione realised just how close their faces really were. She quickly snapped out of her trance and realised that the bus had just started to leave their stop. She caught the bus driver's eyes looking over through the mirror and told him rather harshly to stop the bus, anger still flaring through her. The bus halted to a stop and the double-doors opened. Hermione pushed past Ron and stormed out of the bus. She could hear his footsteps behind her all the way to her house but she tried her hardest to ignore them.

Once she finally reached her house, she slammed the door shut behind her, not looking back once. She couldn't understand why he'd just snapped. What the hell was wrong with him? She threw off her shoes, changed into her pyjamas and got into bed, when it finally dawned on her…it was only 8pm……and she hadn't said goodbye to Viktor.

"Bollocks."