After visiting Hagrid and seeing more creatures that made them question Hagrid's sanity, they were finally sitting in their quarters. Ron had asked Dobby to bring up dinner for them, and Dobby was only too willing to oblige. They ate in silence and finally, full and content, lounged on the couches.

"So…" Harry said unsure of how exactly to begin "Luna's coming to stay with us in the cottage…" Ron stared at Harry, his ears going slightly pink while Hermione looked furious.

"You do realise," she said to him icily "That the whole school thinks you two are going out?"

"Well obviously if I'm talking to a girl I'm going out with her," Harry said sarcastically. Hermione lowered her eyes a little and began to fidget.

"So why's Loony coming with us then?" Ron said. Harry thought about how he had felt when he had invited Luna and realised that maybe Ron and Hermione wouldn't understand him. Either that or they'd think he'd gone completely mad.

"Well… remember that archway in the ministry we found? The one with the voices?" Harry said "Well she seems to think that me and her need to go there. So it's easier if she stays with us while we try to figure out how to get in there safely." Harry decided that this was true; he had just discreetly left out the parts that made him look like an idiot.

"So," Ron said "What's next on the agenda? After this Horcrux you two go to the ministry. Then we go to Godric's hollow…then what? Any chance of us taking a trip to that new sweet shop in Diagon alley? I heard they have the greatest stuff! Even a gobstopper that can last forten years! Cool eh?"

"Well…I don't really want to go to Godric's hollow right now. I thought I did at the end of last term, but the time just doesn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it…" Ron was looking completely confused, but Hermione met his eyes and smiled at him. Harry felt warmth fill his chest as he smiled back.

"Whenever you're ready to go we'll be there Harry." She said. Harry decided that this was enough for him for one night. He stood up, said his good nights and found his bed, which he had been looking forward to all day. He was just getting himself comfortable when he realised that he had left Ron and Hermione alone, he contemplated going back out there but couldn't find a good enough excuse. He had yet another restless night…

Hermione sat on the couch idly flipping through a book, her mind reading a sentence before flitting back to Harry. She tried to concentrate but couldn't. She finally put the book down and closed her eyes. 'I wonder if Harry's talked to Ginny since he's been back?' she thought to herself, and found herself getting angry at the thought. She hoped that the only reason he didn't want to be with her was because of Ron, and he wasn't just trying to get rid of her by using a pathetic excuse. She was just thinking back to their last conversation…analysing it as usual, when she felt herself being pressed into the couch. Her eyes flew open just as she felt a pair of warm and wet lips pressing themselves on her. She tried to move but was pinned beneath him...all she could see was red in front of her eyes.She lay their shocked for a moment thinking 'Ron? What is he trying to do? This is disgusting!' Her paralysis finally broke when she felt his tongue try to get into her mouth, without great precision. She pushed him off quickly and clambered off the couch. She tried to resist the urge to wipe her mouth off because she knew it would hurt his feelings. They stood their staring at each other, Ron with a slightly hurt expression on his face.

"Wasn't it any good?" he asked, and Hermione felt guilty.

"Oh Ron it's not that, it's just…" Hermione started but was interrupted by Ron's angry voice.

"I mean, that's what you wanted wasn't it? You've been bugging me about this for ages Hermione. You attack me with birds and try to get me jealous…" He said, his voice getting steadily louder and louder "Now what! I actually decide to do what you want me to do and kiss you…BUT YOU DON'T WANT THAT EITHER! WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

Hermione stood their completely shocked. Ron was red in the face and looking deathly embarrassed. She felt awful. He was right, she had been asking him to do this for a long time, but her feelings had changed. How did she really expect him to act when she didn't tell him anything?

"I'm sorry Ron," Hermione said, tears beginning to form in her eyes "You weren't bad, it's just that, well…"

"Well what Hermione? You fancy someone else now? Who is it this time?" He said, all his usual good humour lost and replaced with fury. He could see in her face that he was right, and he felt humiliated.

"Who is it?" he asked. Hermione looked down at the floor and felt her hot tears streaming down her face.

"Ron…" she said "I'm sorry, I should have told you that I didn't feel that way anymore. I just didn't want to hurt you. I thought that it would just go away but…"

"Who is it?" he asked again, hating himself because he felt bad about Hermione crying. Hermione still said nothing and Ron finally gave up.

"You know what Hermione. I'll find out who he is eventually, we're 'friends' remember? You should have told me before I made a complete idiot of myself! I can't believe that you would keep me in the dark about something like this. I can't believe that you'd let me go on thinking something might happen with us, when you know it's not going to. I'm going to bed…" Ron said, and then stormed off to his room, leaving both Hermione and his chocolate frogs.

Harry awoke the next morning and got ready 'today's the day' he thought to himself. He left his bedroom to find Ron sitting on the couch staring at the wall. He looked upset and Harry immediately knew something had happened between him and Hermione. His thoughts seemed to crash in on him and he could hardly breathe. 'Oh God, does he know?' was his primary thought, and he sat down gingerly next to him. He didn't know how long they sat in silence for before Ron finally spoke.

"She wants someone else Harry," he said miserably. "I tried to kiss her last night. I though that's what she wanted but she just leapt away from me like I was diseased…" Harry felt a mixture of anger, triumph, relief and guilt. He didn't know what to say. If he tried to comfort him then he would feel like he was backstabbing him. If he tried to say everything would be ok, he would be lying. He certainly didn't want to tell him to give it another go. In the end he settled with the best thing he could dome up with.

"I'm sorry mate," he said, and wished that Ron knew how truly sorry he was. Ron nodded numbly.

"I don't want to lose her over this," Ron continued "We're mates you know? I want us to always be mates, but I just feel so angry right now." Harry nodded dumbly and joined Ron in staring at the wall.

"I've liked her for so long Harry," he said "I want to still be friends with her, but I don't know if I can just turn my feelings off. I just…she made me look like a total prat last night. Why couldn't she have just told me?"

"Maybe she didn't think you two could be friends if she told you that. Your friendship means a lot to her Ron. Maybe she didn't want to risk that…" Harry said, hoping that there was some way their friendship could be salvaged.

"We'll always be friends. I just don't know how I can forgive her. If I ever find out who that other bloke is…he'll be sorry. God Harry…" Ron groaned "I don't know if I can handle seeing her with someone else right now."

"Don't worry about that Ron." Harry said. Ron looked up and smiled at Harry, and he felt a stab of guilt pierce his chest. "Just see how it goes. See if you two can try to be friends. It'll be worth it, after all we were all friends before this all happened. We can still be friends." Ron nodded his head in agreement and stood up.

"I'm gonna go to breakfast, doubt I can eat though. I said I'd meet Luna down there…apparently she made me something. Totally mad that one," he said, and he made his way to the door. 'It must be really bad if he's not willing to eat over Hermione' Harry thought, and felt like the worst friend ever. At the same time his feelings wouldn't go away. Maybe in a couple of months they would. The way they had done with Ginny and Cho. A little voice in the back of his mind said 'but will it this time?'he pushed it quickly to the back of his mind of made his way to the Great Hall, wondering if there was any point in trying to eat when he was this nervous.