Chapter 5: Going Mental

The Great Hall went suddenly silent at the entrance of the two best friends the next morning. All eyes were glued on the tall, red headed Keeper and true to form he was completely oblivious, though the sudden silence did cause him a moments pause before he continued on towards the Gryffindor table. As Harry had predicted word spread like wild fire and by breakfast everyone in the school knew that Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had had a falling out of sorts, as no one was clear on the details. This didn't seem to bother anyone though. All that the female population was concerned about was the fact that Ronald Weasley was now up for grabs and there were many feminine fingers itching to snatch him up.

Glossy heads bowed towards each other as he walked past, appreciative eyes following his every movement. The more timid girls smiled at him meekly when they caught his eye, the more daring called out greetings in high, trilley voices which were soon followed by annoyingly obvious giggles when he nodded his greeting in return.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with everyone today?" Ron asked as he and Harry took their seats.

Harry snickered at the irritation he heard in his friend's voice. "What do you mean, mate?"

Harry waited as Ron paused to wave at a group of third year girls half way down the table who called out his name and giggled madly when he acknowledged them. "What do you mean what do I mean?" He flung his hand out in a wide arch so that his fingers pointed towards the group of third years he had just waved at. "Is it just my imagination or have all the girls gone completely mental today?" As if to prove his point there was another burst of feminine laughter the next table over. "See?"

Harry laughed out loud as he clapped Ron affectionately on the back. "I'm not sure it's the girls who've gone mental, mate."

Sighing heavily Ron scooted forward on the bench and started filling his plate with his favorite breakfast foods. Feeling genuinely hungry for the first time in weeks, Ron was just about to take his first bite into his eggs when Lavender Brown slid onto the bench beside him, scooting so close that her thigh almost grazed his.

"Good morning, Ronald." She simpered sweetly batting her eye lashes at him appealingly.

"Morning Lavender." He said hesitantly, glancing questioningly at her then at Harry who merely shrugged before digging into his own plate of eggs and breakfast sausage. Ronald, the red head thought, no one but Hermione ever called him that.

"Did you sleep well last night?" She shifted so that her thigh brushed against his.

Ron looked over at her with furrowed brows as he finished chewing his eggs and swallowed. "I slept all right."

"Good." She placed an attractively manicured hand on his upper arm causing him to look from her hand to her made-up face, his confusion mounting. "So Ron, you have Quiditch practice today, right?"

"Yeah." He said tentatively, unsure exactly where her questions were leading.

She let her fingers trail down his arm slowly, causing gooseflesh to rise in their wake. "Perhaps I could stop by and watch. I always have found… Quiditch… rather fascinating."

Ron shrugged absently as he turned back to his breakfast, deciding that his empty stomach was more important then trying to understand Lavenders abnormal behavior. "Sure. What ever."

Lavender beamed at him. "Fantastic! I'll see you there."

And with that she bound away excitedly to join Parvati who was leaning in close to Seamus giggling at something he whispered in her ear.

"Mental. I'm telling you." Harry heard Ron murmur as he shoveled more food in his mouth.

Harry, Ginny and Ron walked down to the pitch together latter that evening, their brooms flung causally over their shoulders. Harry and Ginny kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole way, most of which Ron chose to ignore. The two friends were discussing Professor Donovan's DADA class, comparing the teacher's tactics as well as their impressions of her.

Ginny seemed to like Donovan. She was pretty and sweet, was never judgmental and on top of everything, knew her stuff. After Lupin she thought Donovan was quite possibly the best DADA teacher they'd had.

While Harry couldn't find anything at the moment to hold against her, he was still slightly leery, something that annoyed Ginny to no end. But considering his record with past teachers she could very well understand. While Lupin had been ideal and had taught them loads, the others had been less then desirable. One had tried to Obliviate him and Ron, another had sent a Dementor to try and suck out his soul, banned him from Quiditch and forced him to carve words into the back of his hand. And the other two had both turned out to be Death Eaters who tried to kill him. No, until she proved herself, Harry refused to give Donovan his full approval and trust.

As the threesome drew near to the pitch they heard a gentle hum emanating from within the stands. When they were a few yards off it became apparent that the gentle hum they heard was that of many conversations.

Halting just outside the pitch the three friends shared a perplexed look before stepping through the entrance. The sound instantly ebbed away into silence punctuated by several appreciative sighs. Harry and Ginny both stopped when they saw the surprisingly large gathering of girls dotting the stands. It seemed that Lavender was not the only person with the idea of using Quiditch practice as a chance to watch the Keeper openly and unhindered.

Ginny rolled her eyes with annoyance when several of the girls waved at Ron before bursting into uproarious fits of giggles.

"Good lord." She snapped. "Is it just my imagination or is there an annoyingly large amount of that going on?" she asked Harry with exasperation laced in her voice.

Harry snickered as he nudged Ginny playfully with his shoulder. "Just ignore them." He followed his friends retreating back with his eyes, the humor draining from his face reality. "Maybe this is what he needs right now."

Some of the annoyance left Ginny's features as she too watched her brothers retreating back. "I hate watching him like this."

Harry sighed. "There's really nothing we can do about it is there?" He looked over at Ginny and saw that her coffee colored eyes were watching him intently. "What I mean is they're both incredibly stubborn. Hermione refuses to forgive him and he refuses to forgive himself. I don't think he can until she does."

The pair started towards the Gryffindor changing room Ginny casting a look around the field again before shaking her head. "They may as well not even try." She grumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

Ginny shrugged furtively as she continued to walk ahead. "Well, us Weasleys, we're a strange lot." She glanced at the raven haired boy out of the corner of her eye. "You might think this sounds stupid," her skin flushed a charming shade of pink, "and Ron would kill me if he knew I was telling you this. He says he thinks it utter rubbish, but he believes just like the rest of us."

"Believes what?"

"In the one and only."

"The what?"

"One and only," Ginny brushed a loose strand of copper hair out of her eyes. "We come from a long line of Weasleys who have only ever fallen in love with one person their entire life. Look at mum and dad." She tried to explain. "They met while here at Hogwarts, fell in love, and have only ever been with each other. One and only. And the twins. They've only ever dated Angelina and Katie. Bill and Charlie have dated before but nothing as serious as Fleur and Sarah. I suspect there'll be weddings in the not so distant future." She shrugged her dainty shoulders sadly. "And look at Ron. He fell for Hermione long ago. Which is the real reason this is eating him up inside. He knows that Hermione will be the only one for him ever and he thinks he ruined his chance."

Harry stared at the younger girl for a few moments with wide eyes before it altered to a teasing smirk. "And what about you Miss Weasley? Have you found your one and only yet?"

Ginny flashed Harry her most dazzling smile causing a jolt to hit him in the pit of his stomach. Tossing her long sheet of silky, fine hair over her shoulder she strode away calling back at him. "I haven't decided yet."

Harry watched her retreating back frozen until she disappeared inside the locker room. Shaking his head to clear it of dazzling images of sun shinning of copper hair he followed after her.

Ron couldn't take it anymore. The girls were driving him absolutely mental. They never left him alone. He was half convinced that the girls at Hogwarts had made it their mission to make his life miserable. As of things weren't bad enough already they made it worse by constantly pointing at him and giggling, or following him about every where he went or persistently staring at him. He couldn't go anywhere without feeling the eerie sensations of eyes borrowing into his back. It was enough to send anyone to have a permanent visit with Lockhart at St. Mungo's. It was to the point where he couldn't even concentrate in the library. Much to his annoyance he found that he almost felt sympathetic towards Viktor Krum, understanding what it must have felt like during the Tri-Wizard Tournament when he couldn't find a moment alone to himself. That realization above everything else annoyed Ron the most. He didn't want to feel any understanding or sympathy to the ugly Bulgarian git.

At the thought of the Bulgarian seeker and friend of Hermione his eyes narrowed and his mood darkened. Turning his attention back to his work he was glad that he had 'borrowed'Harry's Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map to find a privet spot to study and brood away from the constant, observant eyes of Hogwarts. He hated having to steal them from Harry, but ever since Quiditch practice a week ago he was never able to find a place to be alone.

Ron sighed heavily as he flipped a page. He almost felt bad for taking the map. He knew he could have found a spot without it and cloak, but the truth was if he left them behind Harry and Ginny would try and find him as well and to his aggravation he found that that prospect was about as appealing as letting Lavender find him, and he desired that just about as much as he desired puking up slugs like he had second year.

Angrily Ron threw down his quill. If the girls of Hogwarts had unintentionally gotten on his nerves the past few weeks Harry and Ginny were purposefully trying to send him to the mental ward. They never left him alone. They were always asking him how he was feeling or trying to cheer him up or talk to him about what happened between him and Hermione. Or worst of all, tried to convince him to try and patch up his relationship with her. As if he hadn't been trying? Not that they knew that of course. He didn't need the only two friends he had left knowing that he sent a letter to Hermione every day only to have her send them back unopened. He didn't need that kind of pity, he was feeling pitiful enough as it were on his own.

Sighing heavily Ron leaned forward and flipped to the very back of his Charms book and pulled a warn wizard picture from between the pages. He held it up to the light and sighed again as he felt his heart clutch slightly in his chest. She was so beautiful.

It was a picture of just him and Hermione, Harry had been the one behind the camera. The picture had been taken on one of the few lazy days last year before the O.W.L.s and more importantly the incident at the Department of Mysteries. That day the three friends had been lying in the grass simply enjoying the sunshine and each others company.

He couldn't remember what was said that day but he was sure that he had said something purposefully obnoxious to which Hermione of course had responded to with a sarcastically clever comeback. What ever it was, it sent her scampering away out of reach with Ron chasing after her. She had screeched with laughter the whole time.

After letting her run for a short distance Ron would lunge after her, deliberately letting her slip through his fingers only to go chasing after her again. After letting himself have the tantalizing feel of his fingers graving her waist for the fourth time he had had enough and caught her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder jauntily.

Hermione shrieked even louder and pounded against his broad back demanding to be let down which caused Ron to laugh robustly and spin around. It was during this moment that Harry had snapped the picture, while the two were spinning around, their faces bright with joy and maybe a bit of something else.

A corner of Ron's mouth twitched as the Hermione in the picture pounded on his back, her chocolate brown eyes twinkling with laughter. Feeling a slight pang in his heart he hid the picture away in the leaves of the book before thrusting it closed.

Turning his wrist over to check his watch he decided it was finally late enough for him to head back to the common room. It should be relatively empty by now.

Gathering up his books and parchment he slipped them into his school bag before flinging the strap over his head. When he was sure the cloak was completely covering him he pulled out the map and checked to see that the way was clear to Gryffindor tower.

To his annoyance he saw that Lavender was prowling about on the first floor, no doubt trying to find him. The rest of the halls appeared to be clear. Filch was in the dungeons, Dumbledore was in his office and the rest of the teachers appeared to be in bed. Even Mrs. Noris was tucked away for the night. He gave his head a sharp nod, certain he could make it up to his dormitory without being intercepted by Lavender, or anyone else for that matter.

Pushing the happy picture of him and Hermione out of his mind he made his way towards Gryffindor Tower and his inviting bed knowing full well that there was going to be another sleepless night ahead of him.

Hermione kept her back firmly to the window, spine straight, head held high, ears stubbornly closed. Pig was fluttering just outside the pane being tossed fiercely by the wind. He bobbed in and out of sight on the current, pecking adamantly at the window when he was in range.

"Shit Hermione," Maj slapped her hand down on the table top. "Will you just accept the damn letter so I can get on with my school work?"

"No." she said airily, not bothering to look up from her own crammed parchment. "He'll give up soon enough and go away."

Maj sighed with annoyance as there was a quick repetition of tapping as Pig was first thrust up the length of the window and out of sight then back down to bellow the sill. "I just don't understand why you just won't accept the letters."

"Because." Hermione dipped her quill in her ink pot and continued scribbling, ignoring the eyes that were watching her intently. For several minutes she ignored her friends' stares as she cross-referenced an obscure fact on portkeys for Charms, something about putting them into letters. She wasn't sure as her attention was diverted by the knowledge that her five friends were watching her. Hermione placed a marker in the book deciding it was something she would have to look more in depth to when she had more time, and when there was less people watching. When she could ignore the groups silent stares no longer she looked up impatiently. "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You have been here for over a month," Maj began, voicing what the rest of the group was thinking. "And every day an owl comes, more often then not that one." She pointed to the window where the tiny owl somersaulted several times before dizzily regaining its wings. "And every day you send it away without reading the letter. Why?"

Hermione shrugged uncomfortably. "I have no desire to read what he has to say."

"Who?"

"Ron." Ester gasped with comprehension causing Hermione's head to snap around in surprise.

"Ester!" Hermione cried, triggering a blush in her friend's cheeks.

"I'm Sorry Hermione. It slipped. You hardly ever talk about him and when you do…" She trailed off. "I just realized now... I'm sorry."

"Wait," Bjorn looked between the two girls, his brows furrowed with distress. "Who is Ron?"

"No one." Hermione bowed her head over her parchment, effectively hiding her face. "Someone who use to be a friend." Bjorn continued to look unconvinced of Hermione's assurance but tried to force it aside. "Now if you don't mind," she swept the room with her bright brown eyes, "I would like to finish my essay tonight so that I don't have to do it over the weekend."

At her insistence the group settled back into quiet studying or reading. Ester sat in an armchair near the fire, leafing through her Dark Arts book. Thora lay on her stomach before the fire flipping through the glossy pages of the Bulgarian magazine Modern Witch, she settled on a quiz and began to scribble away at it. Maj sat beside Hermione at the table, deliberately ignoring Yorick who was hinting that he wanted to sneak away into one of the unoccupied rooms with his girlfriend. After a stern look from her, he left Maj to her studies with a dejected sigh. Bjorn smirked at his friend's disappointment but quickly settled into his own work. When the room was quiet once more, her friends busy studying and Pig finally giving up and leaving, Hermione relaxed and went back to her essay.

She turned to the heavy, worn tome spread in front of her. She skimmed down to where she had left off reading and found the passage concerning the complex magic of portkeys imbedded in the lines of a letter. The reference was interesting but her mind couldn't help but wonder.

Ron's smiling face flashed before her eyes as it always did when her mind went into reverie. No matter how she tried she just couldn't seem to force him from her thoughts. She found herself thinking about him at the most inopportune moments; in the middle of class, while working on assignments, talking with friends.

To be honest, she was sick of this game they were playing. Many times she found herself debating whether or not she should just accept his next letter and get it over with, or continue to send them back unanswered.

She had almost done it today. She had felt her determination wither away with each peck Pig took at the window, like he was pecking away at the invisible wall she had built to protect herself. She had just about given up and was preparing herself to go to the window when Maj had spoken and had unintentionally made her question her decision. Now that Pig was gone she couldn't help but feel that perhaps she should have accepted the letter after all.

What was she thinking? Hermione shook her head, clearing it of thoughts of the red head boy back in England. She couldn't let herself break, she scolded in her mind, she wouldn't ever consider forgiving anyone else if they had done what he did. Of course, a little voice in the back of her mind whispered, if anyone else had called her that it wouldn't have bothered her nearly as much, or maybe not at all.

Using the tip of her quill to wipe a stray tear from her eye she berated herself for getting so worked up about Ronald Weasley. She was over him she repeatedly told herself. It was quiet obvious that she had been mistaken in letting her affections settle on him for clearly he was not meant for her.

Underneath the table Bjorn's foot grazed along the side of hers. Hermione's lips quirked at the corner. He had been doing that quiet often as of late and she found it too enduring for words. Bjorn Ivailo was handsome, charming and sweet. And best of all, he seemed to be genuinely interested in her. His foot grazed hers under the table again. She glanced up and found that Bjorn was looking back at her, a playful sparkle in his warm gray eyes and a flirty smirk on his lips.

She smiled back weekly, her cheeks flushing with heat. She ducked her head down and continued her work fully aware that Bjorn continued to stare at her. Shifting slightly in her seat Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to ignore the tingly feeling she was getting the longer he watched.

When Bjorn's foot grazed against hers for a third time Hermione threw down her quill and stood up abruptly causing her chair to grate shrilly against the hard wood floor. She smiled apologetically at the group when they glanced up at her in surprise. She waited until her friends returned to their work once more before she caught Bjorn's eyes and cocked her head silently towards the door indicating that he should follow her.

Without waiting to see if he was following, Hermione strode towards the door well aware of Yorick's envious stare as she went. Once outside she scanned the corridor for an open door indicating a vacant room. Spotting one several portals away she walked towards it and stopped just outside waiting for Bjorn to enter first. When he slipped past her into the room she closed the door behind him then whipped around to face him, toe tapping playfully. "Well?" She prompted gently when he remained quiet.

Bjorn shifted his weight under her penetrating gaze. "Well what?"

Hermione sighed as she tilted her head to the side giving him an encouraging smile. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?"

Bjorn's skin tinted a red dark enough to compete with Ron on his worst day. "Noticed that, did you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest, her lips persistently twitching. "It was kind of hard to miss."

Bjorn's left hand reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he tried desperately to avoid her eyes. "Well you see Hermione…well the thing is…"

"Come on Bjorn. Spit it out."

The Bulgarian's skin grew even darker. "You see the thing is…" he stammered, "well, you see we always have a ball on Halloween." He shrugged dismissively, "it's kind of a tradition. And well, I was thinking… if you didn't have anyone to go with…if perhaps you would want to go with me?"

Hermione tipped her head to the side at an angle better suited to observe him. A part of her had been expecting this she supposed, but she had pegged him in the same category as Ron, someone who would never willing display his thoughts and emotions like that. She knew he liked her of course, that was easy to see, but she hadn't expected him to act on it. Now that the moment had arrived and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react.

Yes she knew he was a fine boy, she wouldn't be friends with him if she didn't already think that. But did she like him as more then just a friend? She knew that she felt an attraction to him physically, but was that reason enough to alter the course of their friendship. She wasn't sure if she liked him fully like that, but as she watched him she realized that she could possibly grow to like him as more then just friends in the future. And even if she didn't, she reasoned, it was one Halloween ball. You can go to a school ball with a friend and not have it mean anything.

Besides having Bjorn fully focused on her for one whole night wouldn't be such a bad thing. He would defiantly be distracting. Perhaps for once she could go a full night without thinking about her former best friend.

"Is it a formal ball?" she finally asked.

Hermione had been silent for so long that Bjorn had begun to worry that it hadn't been such a good idea to ask her to go with him. He had convinced himself he had taken too big of a risk and was preparing to back out but stopped at the sound of her gentle voice. Bjorn's head snapped up in anticipation. "What?" he asked, not understanding immediately.

Hermione couldn't keep the humored grin from her face. "Are formal robes required?" When Bjorn nodded dumbly Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from laughing outright. "Mine are periwinkle blue."

Bjorn stared at her, mouth agape as she began to walk away. "Wait. What?"

Hermione stopped to turn and look back at him. "You haven't changed your mind about asking me have you?"

"No. Of course I haven't."

"Good." Hermione turned and called over her shoulder. "My robes are periwinkle blue. In case you wanted to dress to match."

Bjorn's lips split into a wide smile. "Really?"

Hermione stopped in the door way, leaning against the post and nodded. "I'm looking forward to it." She assured him before she slipped out the door leaving Bjorn stunned and staring after her.

When it finally hit him what had happened he grinned stupidly and sank into the nearest chair, letting his head fall between his knees. He took several deep breaths to calm his frazzled nerves. When he had his breathing under control he sat up, a smug smile on his face. He couldn't help it. He had a date with Hermione Granger.