Chapter 2

"James? James!" Lily screamed at her dead husband and ran into her son's room, covering him with her body.

"I warned your husband, he took my son." he raised his wand. "So now I am taking yours…"

"AAAAA!" Harry sat up, bolt upright with sweat saturating his face.

"Harry? What happened?" Ron panicked as he was getting dressed, when Harry scared him senseless. It had been a month since the Weasleys had rescued Harry from 4 Privet Drive. Once again, the Dursleys had planned to confine Harry from 'that freak school' for another year. And like all the rest, they failed. The Weasleys had given Harry a special port key, and he climbed onto the roof, took out the tattered quill and away he went. He appeared in the Burrow back door and that was that. Mrs Weasley punished everyone but Harry, took him in like her own child (but better of course) and then life went on. A month later and Harry was supposed to be getting ready to go to Diagonalley for last minute supplies. Even though his books were all delivered courtesy of Mad eye Moody. That paranoid git. Ron thought and waited for Harry to put his glasses on. "So? What happened?"

"Nothing Ron. I just had a bad dream…"

"Want to talk about it now? Or while we eat breakfast?" Harry smiled as Ron threw some clothes at him. "And mom has tried to do waffles by hand again. this should be interesting…they looked like soup in containers last time…" Ron shuddered and left Harry to change.

When the boys both entered the kitchen, they saw every other Weasley (other than Percy) and Hermione.

"Ron! Harry!" She jumped from her seat and hugged them both. Then, she hit them both over the head. "I told you to write to me during the summer. And I didn't even get one letter. Not one!"

"Sorry Hermione, we were, erm…busy?" Ron tried pleadingly, as Harry sat down. If only Ron wouldn't dig himself a whole like that.

"And doing what might I ask?"

"Erm, well, stuff. Oh look, waffles." Ron changed the subject and everyone sat once more. Breakfast went rather quickly and Hermione helped Mrs Weasley with the washing spells. Very soon Harry and Ron, Hermione and the twins (Fred and George), were all walking down Diagonalley, smelling of floo powder with the green flick here and there on their robes. Hermione refused to talk to Ron after he lost his temper and told her he just couldn't be arsed to write to her. Of course this was not a smart move as now; Harry had to be the 'owl' between them for any sort of conversation. This was…awkward…

"So Ron, what do we need to get?"

"Everything, except for you of course. All your things are at Hogwarts. And tell Hermione that if she needs anything, she should leave and get them before we leave. We lads are not going to be weighed down as she batters her eyelids at the latest cover of Teen alchemists' weekly addition again." Ron state all matter-of-factly and marched ahead. Harry turned to an outraged Hermione.

"Erm…Ron said." Harry began.

"Well Harry. You tell that horrid friend of yours, that I will. Because I 'can't be arsed' to put up with this immature taunts like I have over the last 5 school years! No more. Good bye!" Ron span round.

"And what have I ever done to you?"

"Let me think. you called me a freak before you even met me in the first year, you have always thought me odd, you made fun of me at the ball and tried to ruin my only ever date with your hero, just because you couldn't get his autograph Ron. You have constantly called me crazy and I am, because you drive me crazy. I came to the burrow to be with you two, my only friends. And what do I get? I can't be arsed!" She whimpered, tears falling down her face and everyone in the alley turned, listening in with glaring eyes towards Ron. "Good Bye Harry. Good bye." She sobbed and ran away from them. Harry shouted after her, but she didn't listen.

"Hermione! Come back!"

"Forget her Harry. She is just being hormonal."

"No Ron, I will not forget her. She is our friend and she deserves more respect than I can't be arsed. At least I had a reason for not writing to her. Aunt Petunia took Hedwig fro me while I wasn't looking. You had the opportunity and couldn't be bothered…" Harry walked back over to him. "…I wish you two would just get along you know…you are always fighting these days. Ever since we left 4th year, I have had to force you two to stay in the same room. last year you were about at each other's throats, what happened?"

"Nothing Harry. She is just being strange again." he rolled his eyes and saw he wasn't gong to get an answer from him. Not until Ron started to see just what an idiot he had been.

"Forget it Ron…let's just get your stuff." Harry led he proud, and partially sulking Ron into the magic stores of all kinds. They bought his books, supplies, sweets, robes, everything was bought that wouldn't be handed down from Fred and George. So not much in all. Then, it was off to the Leaky Cauldron to sleep before the next day. Where they were off to Hogwarts.

ooOoo

Dinner was quite.

Harry played with this food, poking it with a fork as Ron sulked at the end of the table. All day he had been constantly listing everything that makes him in the right and Hermione the one who was off her rocker. Perhaps to prove himself to Harry, or to himself. Both had seemed to fail, as Ron looked troubled and Harry was disappointed. Harry sighed as Ron just said absolutely nothing, eating nothing and getting worries looks from the Weasleys and Harry stood up.

"Excuse me. I am getting tired; I will go to my room now I think." Harry left to his room, and Ron followed. They were sharing rooms after all.

"Ron dear, you haven't eaten your dinner."

"I'm not hungry." Ron skulked off upstairs and didn't say one word to Harry, until he went insane. "Look Harry, it isn't my fault that when we grew up, we grew apart. She likes you still, and so do I. but we don't like each other anymore. I think she is a cow and a snob, she finds my behaviour 'ghastly'." He threw a pillow to the floor and sat on his bed in a huff. "She drives me mad and I do the same for her. We don't like each other, end of story."

"But why Ron? Why don't you like each other anymore?" Harry despaired and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "I mean, we were so close during the tri wizard games. I mean, you were both there for me and each other too."

"Exactly Harry. We were there for you. And together for you. We rubbed up against each other since the first year, but we put it aside to be your friend. And yeah, at times I thought she was bearable. Even cool. But it just went downhill from there. I mean, how can I when she constantly makes me sound like an idiot?"

"She doesn't mean to Ron."

"That makes it worse! She doesn't mean to, so when she does mean to, she is a bitch!"

"Ron please, surely you can't mean that."

"I do Harry, and I know why she has started to be all high and mighty lately. And there is only one real reason why she is mad at me. She has never forgiven me for not asking her to that ruddy Yule Ball."

"But she went with Krum." He raised a brow. "Or is that why you never forgave her? Because you never asked her to the dance."

"I did, remember?"

"I know, after she told you she was already going with someone."

"Then she threw a wobbly with me."

"And you fell out with her and sulked, like you are now."

"Look Harry, I don't like her ok!" Ron turned his back to Harry and sighed. "I just…I don't like her Harry. I'm sorry."

"It isn't me who wants to hear you say that." Harry turned over in his bed and closed his eyes. He would need all his sleep for tomorrow. He would not only be going home to Hogwarts, but he would probably have to play umpire between Ron and Hermione.

When did it all go wrong?

Hermione however, didn't go to sleep sulking. She cried herself to sleep.

She hated that boy. When she had liked him, he had called her names before even getting to know her. Then, she had to earn his respect, for her to never truly get it. she even remembered the truce she made with him to stick by Harry while he was in the triwizard games. But after that…things just got worse. Ron didn't speak to her and Hermione desperately tried to be civil, even when he wasn't. For Harry, she thought. She tried to be his friend for Harry. But in the end, that forced friendship wore off quickly and sparks flew.

The three major fights they had, were when Harry wasn't present.

The first was at the beginning of the 5th year, after they were 15. Ron stepped on her feet, she smiled and let it go. He snickered as she then fell over nursing her foot and got a lot of laughs from it with the gathered crowd. At that moment, she thought he deserved nothing more than a golden membership badge to Slytherin. She pulled herself together, looked him square in the eyes and called him a cad. He laughed even harder and she lost all self-restraint. Hermione rose her wand, aimed for his forehead and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Genitalia!"

He turned into a real life dick head and she ran to her room. It took a nasty reversal spell from Professor McGonagall to return him to normal.

The next was when Hermione was in the Library. Ron was chuckling with his brothers and he took a new made dung banger (like a magic dung bomb but smaller made by Fred and George) and threw one. It went off and Fred and George joined in. after a while, one landed on her and when she turned to see who actually threw it, she saw Ron. She teared from the smug look on his face and the stench of the putrid prank banger, walked up to him, smacked him in the face and went up to her room to cleanse herself. Of course, the next action was for her to report him to filch and get him a month's worth of detention. Harry found it funny, but Ron did not.

The final notch to the start of the end of their truce, was outside of the Yule Ball at the end. Ron had been asked how he thought she looked, and said she looked like a tart. She pursed her lips together and tried to ignore her tearing chest, when she then heard him say that she had leached herself to Krum because no one else would have her.

And this was why.

She was snooty.

She was a know-it-all.

She was bossy.

She was nosy.

She was manic.

She was obsessed.

She was a general bitch and someone would have to have had head injuries from bludgers like Krum has to want to take her as a date.

Krum had already gone when she ran from the ball, tears falling from her eyes and straight past Ron. He followed her, to be told that. "You ruined everything! Leave me alone you Ghastly brute!"

Then the truce ended and neither talked. Since then, Hermione didn't try to be even slightly interested in him. Sometimes if they had to be alone in a room together, one would make an excuse to leave and so would the other. Or just not talk. This worked until Harry just about Begged Hermione to be friends with Ron again.

So once again, she tried.

For Harry.

So she offered to keep in touch with the boys over the summer, giving Ron a pleading and forgiving look. And for a moment there, she thought he had understood and smiled at her.

"But obviously I was mistaken." She spat and turned in her bed. "I bet that boy doesn't even know the meaning of the word courteous or forgiveness. Or even the principles of being wrong. He is such a jerk." She whimpered into her pillow and pursed her lips, trying to stop her tears. And now that I can't go near Ron anymore, I can't go near Harry either. So now…I am alone…

everything started out so wonderful. So very wonderful.

Where did it all go so wrong?