Potion Notes

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Just a quick note on the first chapter; I wrote the chapter while on a class trip in a little tent and anyway it filled up pages and pages of journal paper but when I typed it up it wasn't very long, so this chapter will be a bit longer if I can manage it. By the way this story takes place in 5th or 6th year, doesn't really matter.

The moment Ron reached the boy's dormitories after stomping violently up the stairs away from Dean, Seamus, and the scattered chess pieces, he threw himself on his bed in complete sadness and intense anger. Lying face down on his quilt Ron reached upwards, grasped a pillow and flung it aimlessly; but with quite a bit of pent-up force across the room. He heard the pillow collide with what sounded like a book-bag and then there was a loud thud and the sound of escaping quills and parchment rolling and rustling about the floor. This was oddly very satisfying for Ron, who still couldn't seem to make coherent thoughts.

'Why am I such a…?'

'Well she did…'

'But, why did I have to…?'

'Oh, and then she…'

'Still I didn't really…'

'All my fault and…'

'Then Seamus and Dean…'

'She was actually…'

'Oh just bugger it!'

Ron felt a piece of parchment caress his hand; which was dangling off of the bed. He propped himself up on his elbows and snatched the parchment from the floor. He grabbed it so vigorously a corner ripped off in his hand. He opened his fist and read the name "Seamus Finnegan" and the title "Potions; January 9" scrawled carelessly across the top. Ron was very pleased indeed to discover that it was Seamus' book bag he had hit with the pillow. It wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying if it had been Harry's or Neville's. But Seamus, now that was someone whose book bag deserved to be hit very severely with a pillow and the contents to be sprawled all over the floor. Ron thought rather wickedly of all the things that deserved to happen to Seamus and his possessions as he slowly ripped Seamus' Potion notes into miniscule pieces of parchment.

After a quite long time of listing numerous ways of either vandalizing Seamus' things or cursing him into oblivion his mind began to rationalize.

'Okay… I know it wasn't his fault for the chess bit; It wasn't as if he had me under the Cruciatus; physically making me unable to study and forcing me to play wizards chess with him.'

'But it had been his suggestion, and they could have played another time, if only he hadn't insisted we play chess just then…'

'Oh. Right. He didn't insist on anything did he? That was all me wasn't it? Hadn't he actually mumbled something about playing some time else?'

Ron's thoughts wound around in hopeless circle in his head. Part of him vehemently tried to blame everything worldly possible on Seamus while the other part, the more reasonable part, pointed out that Seamus hadn't done anything at all to warrant the blame.

Very deep down he knew he was irrationally pinning all the blame on Seamus because it was far easier to blame him than to put the blame where it really belonged: On himself. After all, it was he, himself who had called Hermione those hideous things, who had made her feel like he would rather be with his other friends than with her, and worst of all: who had made her cry. Ron shook his head furiously. Attempting to banish the guilt away. He wasn't ready to think about Hermione's tear stained face. It was too hurtful to imagine that he, Ron Weasley, had managed to screw everything up and push Hermione away again. He had made her cry, the very thought of it made him want to cry.

No, he couldn't think of that yet. Not until he could some how think up some way to apologize, to make it up to her, to be her friend again. But until then it was far easier to shove the image of Hermione's anger and tears as far away as he could and keep on beginning every thought in his head with 'That bloody prat Seamus, he…'

Sighing, Ron returned to slowly and methodically shredding Seamus' Potion notes into ever diminishing pieces.

Ginny realized something had happened as soon as she stepped into the common room. For one, there was a table turned over in the middle of the room, quills and parchment were strewn everywhere in a ten foot radius. There was also a large ink stains on the table, chairs and carpet. It looked as if a small bomb had gone off, either that or Peeves had been through here, she chuckled to herself guessing it was the latter. The second thing she observed was that almost all of the people in the common room were gathered somewhat around the table murmuring excitedly. As she walked over she heard snippets of various people's conversations.

"What was it about anyway?" Pavarti muttered.

"Just chess or some rubbish you know how they are" Lavender replied.

"Who do you reckon won?" inquired a second year girl to her friends.

"I think she did, remember that look she gave him, and the table, that was brilliant!"

"Yeah, but did you hear what he called her! That was harsh!"

"But she was doing so well, until she started crying that is"

"I would cry to if the boy I secretly liked called me a bitch too!" piped in Lavender from behind the second years.

This comment set the second years into giggling while Pavarti remarked to Lavender "It is so obvious that they really like each other, I mean look how many fights they have!"

With a sinking feeling Ginny was now quite sure what had happened. Ron and Hermione fighting again. Oh Dear. As if to confirm her fears a piece of parchment crinkled at her feet and she saw Hermione's tight neat handwriting all splattered with black ink. This reminded Ginny of what the girls had just said.

'He called her a bitch!' This thought registered with Ginny and she became suddenly furiously with her brother, he could be so insolent sometimes!

'How the hell could Ron keep dodging around his feelings and get so mixed up that he ended up getting in fights with her?'

'This time he had gone more than a little too far!' thought Ginny angrily. 'How dare he treat her like that!' Ginny had sat through far more fights than she should have, she had always quietly nudged them into apologizing, each time believing they would finally get over whatever was barring them from being together. But every time something like this happened and Ginny was not going to take it anymore.

Then suddenly, another part of the girl's gossip drifted back to her. 'She was crying'

With a gasp Ginny realized in her rage against her brother she had completely forgotten about Hermione. She rushed through the people and made her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. All the while thinking 'How horrible! Poor Hermione, being called a bitch by the one boy she may be very close to being in love with.'

Ginny reached the door to Hermione's dormitory out of breath from running up the stairs. She took a second to breathe; then knocked lightly on the door. When there was no answer Ginny pushed the door open a few inches and tentatively said

"Hermione, it's Ginny."

When there was again silence she asked, "Can I come in?"

After a few seconds it became clear she wouldn't get an answer so Ginny slowly opened the door the rest of the way. What she saw was alarming even compared to the scene downstairs. Ginny paused in the doorway trying to take it all in. There were lavender pages all strewn all over the room, hundreds of them, everywhere. Some were crumpled up into tight balls, some were shredded apart; most were just lying pathetically all over the floor. They were on the tops of the four posters, balancing on desks and trunks, a few looked like they were about to fall out of the window, they were sitting so precariously on the sill. With a jolt, Ginny remembered where the she had seen the lavender pages before: in Hermione's diary. And sure enough lying in front of her was the crippled remnant of the diary's spine. It looked as if it had been hit against the wall several times and then thrown across the room.

After Ginny got past the shock of the pages, she noticed other things. The drawers of Hermione's desk were torn out and letters, pictures, and what looked like the perfume Ron had given her were on the floor. All looked as if they had been stomped on numerous times.

Perhaps most alarming to Ginny was Hermione's book bag which had been dumped on the floor, her books lying carelessly about. In general this was a common sight, but for other people, not Hermione. Never Hermione. Hermione had such respect for her studies that her books were always tidy and her notes carefully filed and quills put in their right places. The crinkled Potion notes protruding in a messy heap from the book bag were as bad an omen to Hermione's condition as anything could be. Ginny knew that for her to leave her things like that, Hermione must more upset than even Ginny could have feared.

Ginny walked cautiously to Hermione's four-poster bed. As she drew the curtains apart and looked upon Hermione's form, curled up and shaking under her blankets, her face and hair wet from countless tears, there was one pounding thought in her head.

'How could Ron do this?'

A/N: I know Ron seems a bit much with the Seamus, but he is just taking all of his guilt and anger out the easiest way he can. Also, if you think Hermione is too upset, remember that she loves him and he just insulted her the worst way he could have.

Please keep reviewing, thanks!