Chapter Seven.

That night at dinner Hermione kept on glancing at me as if she was embarrassed about what she had said earlier.

"Hermione!" I said in a whisper. "If you keep on looking at me like that Harry and…. Ron will suspect something is up!"

"I know, you're right! It's just I'm so…."

"Embarrassed about earlier?" I finished for her.

"Yes, that." She said with a slight note of shame in her voice.

I sighed. "It's not that bad, Hermione."

"Yes it is!" She said a little too loudly.

"What?" Ron said. He and Harry had turned to look at her. She bit her lip.

"Okay, umm yeah. We're trying to have a private conversation here. So… bye." I said.

"Okay fine. Just can I have the potatoes?"

"Sure." Hermione said and she handed him the bowl. As he took it their fingers touched. Hermione blushed and turned away quickly, and Ron cleared his throat and began talking to Harry about scissors. Which was weird. They had been talking about Quidditch before.

I grinned.

"What?" Hermione asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Hermione gave me a suspicious look, then I went on. "Anyway as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," I said half to Harry and Ron. They glanced at me quickly again. Then went back to their conversation.

"Do you really think that, you know…." I lowered my voice. "Liking Ron…. Is that big of a tragedy?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Because why Hermione?"

"Because it's Ron!" She shouted, suddenly losing control of her voice volume.

"What's me?" Ron wondered, looking over.

"Nothing's you! Would you stop butting in already?!" Hermione cried.

I went on silently as soon as Ron raised an eyebrow and looked away. "So? What difference does that make? How is he different than any other boy you've ever liked?"

"Because…. He's Ron!" This times she was oodles silenter. "You wouldn't understand!"

"Yes I would! I liked my best friend Tommy my third year of Arrowhead! I wasn't going to tell him but then my friend Sara talked to me! And you know what happened? He liked me too! We dated for over a year! Then I dumped him. That was when I started to like Josh. The other boy I told you about. But guess what, Tommy and I are still friends! In fact we're best friends! And I'm glad we had our little thing. We wouldn't be half as close as we are today if we hadn't!"

"Well you're not me and Tommy isn't Ron!"

"Really captain obvious?" I said sarcastically.

"All I'm saying is that we're all different people, who get in different situations, and have different emotions. The key word here is different. As in what happened to you in your third year has nothing to do with what's happening to me right now! It was a different thing all together!"

"So it was different people! What if it's all basically the same thing though? Huh? You gonna let your chance slip?"

"It's not the same thing! Don't you get it? It's….it's just not!"

"Whatever. I don't know about you, but I got homework. See you guys later." Then I stood up and walked out of the room.

About a half an hour later Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the common room.

"We better get going on our homework." Ron said sadly.

"I've already done mine." Hermione said airily.

"Okay then you can get going on our homework."

"Oh please Ron. I'm not going to do your homework for you."0

"Oh come on Hermione, please!"

"No, I'm going to bed."

"But it's only eight!"

"No. It's nine and I'm tired." She replied irritated.

"But if you're not going to do my homework you at least have to check it!"

"Fine I'll check it during breakfast tomorrow."

"But I won't ha0ve enough time to fix it in the morning!"

"Yes you will. You just can't sleep in again."

"I don't know what you're talking about! I never sleep in!"

She snorted. "Oh please. You never don't sleep in."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is!"

"I'm not as lazy as you think!"

"Yes you are! I wouldn't be surprised if you were more lazy than I think!"

"Here we go again." Harry said as he massaged his temples. I looked at him. Hermione and Ron were too busy yelling at each other to notice anything we were saying. People around the room were paying no attention to Ron and Hermione. It looked as though they had gotten used to it. The most anyone did was roll their eyes.

"Do they fight like this very often?" I asked half looking at them and half at Harry. He let out a short laugh.

"Yes! This is amazing! It's is the first time they've fought all day! They average about oh I don't know, three to ten fights a day. But it's getting better. The fights are a lot shorter now. I remember one in the third year, it was about their pets. I don't exactly remember how long it was but it was a long fight. Then they had one in the fourth year when Ron didn't like Hermione going out with Victor Krum."

"Victor Krum! Isn't he the one like really good Quidditch player for Bulgaria? That's so cool! Hermione dated…" My voice faded a little and it had a note of smugness to it. "him?"

"Yeah. Ron got really upset. Don't ask me why. He gets really mad when ever Krums name comes up now."

I smiled deviously.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I think Ron likes Hermione!"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "What?"

"No seriously! Look at the facts. Ron and Hermione fight like all the time."

"If you ask me that means he doesn't like her."

I laughed. "Boys. No. You see that only means he's in denial. He likes her but he doesn't want to so he fights with her any chance he gets so maybe he'll get mad at her and won't like her. But of course he would never say he likes her out loud! He's a boy and that's simply how boys are…. Or at least most boys."

He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something closed it again then opened it once more and said, "No. It can't be. I mean Ron, and…. and Hermione? It just can't be."

"Aha! You know that what I'm saying makes perfect sense! And come on, Ron and Hermione would make a really cute couple." We both looked at them at the same time. Hermione was breathing deeply and her cheeks were red and puffy. She stomped her foot and stormed up to the girls dormitory. Ron threw his hands up in the air with frustration.

"Yeah." Harry said sarcastically. "They'd make the perfect couple."

"Hahaha very funny." There was a silence then I said, "Well, I'm going to bed now. Good night."

"Night Skylar."