A/N: Hello everyone! I just wanted to say a few points before you start reading this. Most of this chapter is Ron thinking back throughout his day. I am sorry if some sections seem a little choppy, but I felt that it was necessary to explain is foul mood. That way, at the end of the chapter, you will REALLY feel sorry for him. Also, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!

Ron Weasley groaned as he pulled his robes back on over his aching body. He had already had to suffer through a tedious and galling Quidditch practice, and now he had to endure a whole new kind of torture- Prefect duties.

It was ten o'clock at night, and he had Prefect duties until midnight. He usually didn't mind patrolling the quiet halls; he knew there was responsibility that came along with the badge. Besides, he was used to patrolling on Wednesday nights, seeing as how it was becoming his regular night to walk the corridors.

Nothing of note really ever happened on his rounds. Occasionally, he would come across a couple snogging in a deserted alcove, but he never reprimanded them for it; he would let the other on-duty Prefect handle that particular problem. He thought it was atrocious that people found it essential to display physical passion where anyone could witness it. He winced at the thought of putting himself in so close a radius to their distasteful displays of emotion. So he naturally let the other Prefect on duty handle the situation, whether it made him or her uncomfortable or not.

Better some other pitiful soul than me, he reasoned.

Though Ron was learning to cope with the many responsibilities his position beared, all he desired to do at the moment was crawl under his burgundy coverlet and go to sleep; he wanted to forget his day in a hard, deep sleep. The brief time Hermione and he had shared on the way to breakfast that morning was the last pleasant thing that had happened to him all day. The minute he stepped into the Great Hall, Ginny cornered him to talk about what she and Hermione had discussed the previous night. Ron was thankful they were in a room full of people, otherwise he was sure her wrath would have fallen on him like a waterfall. However, diluted as her words were, they still hissed poison. Her speech curiously reminded him of Draco Malfoy. He decided to point out this striking similarity to his irate sister for the sheer reason to put her off even more so than she already was. He knew he would be on the receiving end of her temper no matter what he did, so why not have a little fun with it?

"You know who you remind me of Gin?" Ron asked her through his clenched teeth, interrupting her in mid-sentence. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "Malfoy."

Ginny was half way through drawing an enormous breath to verbally lash out of him when she stopped and cowered down to her less-than-typical mien. She looked at Ron with her big honey-brown eyes, making her thoughts exigent to fathom. Every single unknown emotion that she was feeling leaked through her spirit and was deposited into her own brother's, giving him an extremely heavy conscience. Ron was surprised at how small and fragile she actually looked. Her appearance made her look vulnerable and helpless. For the second time in two days, he felt truly like a prat for his hastiness to speak and his laggardness to think.

"Look, Gin...I'm sorry."

"WHAT did you say, Ron?"

"I said," he answered gingerly, "I'm sorry."

"No," she whispered apprehensively, "before that. What you said about me reminding you of Draco..."

Ron noticed that she called him by his first name, but resolved that now was not the time to interrogate her blunder.

"Ron," Ginny said as she placed her freckled hand over her mouth, "do I really remind you of him?" She was not meeting his gaze, but looking off into an unknown reality her brother's comment had taken her to. From her demeanor, it was not a place he fancied her to venture to.

"Ginny," he said softly, "of course you don't remind me of him." He them pulled his little sister into a warm embrace. He realized for the first time how much smaller she was than himself. The top of her ginger head didn't even reach the bottom of his chin. With his arms fully wrapped around his little sister, she seemed to be entirely too thin; it felt like if he squeezed her too hard, her brittle form would shatter. This was not the same full, attractive girl he knew. He attempted to let her go, but she held onto him like her life depended on their contact, so he stayed as he was. He noticed that a small portion of his wooly robes were becoming damp with her tears. He patted her back awkwardly.

"Really Gin, I didn't mean it. I only wanted to hack you off, not make you cry...I reckon it was the wrong way to go about it."

She lifted her head off of her brother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ron. I don't know what's the matter with me. I knew what you were playing at...I shouldn't have let you get to me. It's just...just..."

"'Just' what?"

"It's just that I don't want to be like him."

Ron snorted. "Who the hell does?" He then quickly composed himself and continued. "You're not, Gin."

He stopped for a minute to collect his wandering thoughts. Why would his sister take heed to such a daft comment about Draco Malfoy? Of course she despised him, but why was she all of a sudden so adamant not to be like him? Did she not realize only Malfoy could live up to Malfoy's own wicked reputation? These were all questions that he wished he could pose to his sister. However, for the first time in a long while, Ron Weasley thought before he spoke and let the matter drop...for the time being.

Ron then continued comforting his sister. "That was a horrid thing to say. I know it really isn't an excuse, but I think I'm just tired. After talking to Hermione this morning I only got about an hour of sleep."

Ginny's face lit up and all her worries appeared to be forgotten. "Oh! So you two talked, did you? What did she say? Wait, what did you say? Well, go on!"

"Whoa! Slow down Gin." Ron racked his brain for a suitable answer. "Well, I apologized to her and she...err...forgave me. We're best friends again."

Ginny's face fell. "That's all?" she gawked.

"Err..." Ron didn't fancy the idea of telling his baby sister how intimate he and Hermione had gotten after their talk; he knew she would read far too much into the matter. He reckoned it would be in his best interest to let Hermione inform Ginny on what had perspired that morning, if there was any need to do so.

"Yeah," he finished simply.

"Oh, well, then I suppose now you can get on to more important matters."

"Like what?" he asked.

She let out a huge sigh and said in a sing-song voice, "Oh Ronald, I'm sure that in time you will figure it out."

"Erm...right."

Even though a light hearted conversation had evolved, Ron was still stricken by the drastic effect his accusations regarding Malfoy had had on his sister, though she seemed to have gotten over it soon enough, as now she was sauntering her way to the Gryffindor table. Ron wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Malfoy look up from the all high-and-mighty Slytherin table for a brief second and lock eyes with Ginny, however, it was too brief to really take into account. If the gaze had been a second longer, however, he might have found it an opportune moment to try the creative, new hex he had accidentally come across in the Restricted Section, while doing research for a Charms essay. If that insolent git had the audacity to begrudge his little sister in any way, shape, or form, then the ferret would pay dearly for his foolish actions; Malfoy didn't want to tempt with the infamous Weasley temper.

Ron was still a little distressed over Ginny's pointless breakdown over his moronic accusations regarding Malfoy, and this was the downfall that began his ghastly day. If it hadn't been for the calming comfort of Hermione's presence, he could have sworn that he was going to do in the next person that dared cross him. One would think that waking up next to Hermione would be an omen of a blissful day, but unfortunately for Ron, he didn't believe in omens...well, good omens for that matter.

When Ron took his place between Harry and Hermione at their Potions table, the other two could sense that Ron's mood was extremely sour. Harry and Hermione exchanged quick glances at each other, both knowing all too well that asking the cause of his anguish would only saturnine his mood even more. Hermione knew she shouldn't speak to Ron just now. Instead, she slid her hand across the worn table and delicately grasped Ron's hand and gave it a small squeeze. This appeared to startle him, making him jump. Then he looked over at Hermione. Dark brown met sea blue eyes, and Ron instantly relaxed. Hermione didn't have to say anything- her face said it all. Ron was grateful for her gift of being able to communicate without uttering a word.

Ron and Hermione were gazing helplessly into each other's eyes, hands interlocked. The moment of connection was so intense they didn't realize that Professor Snape had flung the classroom's iron door ajar and had stridden up the front of the classroom. Nor did they realize that the room had gone completely quiet. They only materialized Snape's presence when they heard his greasy voice say very softly:

"Excuse me, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. I do hope that I may proceed with today's lesson?"

After Snape had singled them out in front of the entire class, Ron and Hermione turned beet-red, dropping their gazes instantly and glued their eyes to Snape. With the fact known to all of Gryffindor that Snape savored torturing their house, he continued with his unwanted banter.

"It does not do one well to witness such an insufferable display of affection between the two of you." He gave them a look disgust and began the day's lesson.

With their faces still unnaturally red, Ron and Hermione slowly lifted their hands away from each other and placed them lightly in front of them. Ron began absently tracing the worn binding of his book, while Hermione gave an all-out effort to give the appearance that she was paying attention to the Professor's words. Their efforts were broken when a low drawl filtered across the room.

"I thought one little romp with that Mudblood would be enough for him last night. Apparently I was mistaken."
The Slytherin side of the room exploded into subdued, yet obvious snickers. Hermione turned her head in Ron's direction, giving him a look that clearly said, "Just ignore him."

Ron's breathing was becoming deep and slow, eyes now set dead forward- an obvious attempt to calm himself down. When Malfoy realized his gibe was not affecting Ron, he continued in his ruthless banter.

"Although, I'm not sure which one I pity more. Weasley for touching the Mudblood or the Mudblood for touching Weasley. The idea of the two of them together is absolutely revolting."

Before Hermione could touch his arm to still him, Ron was turned around, elevated half out of his chair, eyes shooting daggers in Draco's direction.

"Why don't you shut the hell up Malfoy, before I go over there and drub your arse?"

As these words left Ron's mouth, a smirk spread across Draco's; he had successfully attained his goal of setting Ron off. Unfortunately, Professor Snape was quite displeased with Ron's outburst.

"Mr. Weasley! You are out of order! I WILL NOT tolerate that sort eruption in my classroom. Twenty points from Gryffindor, for your offense to Mr. Malfoy, as well as the unnecessary interruption of my lesson."

"But Malfoy-"

"Your tantrum does not involve Mr. Malfoy. Another ten points, and if you feel the nettlesome desire to break in again, it will be detention as well."

"Yes, sir," Ron said quietly, jaws clenched. Snape's upper lip curled into a vile simper, and he continued on with his lesson.

After the tedious Potions lesson, Ron's mood was permanently dampered for the day, although the rest of his lessons went fairly well. Just when he thought the light at the end of the tunnel was beginning to grow brighter, Quiddditch practice that evening went absolutely ghastly. He managed only to save two Quaffles and let the other thirty-odd Quaffles in. Ron was disordered as to why he was performing so badly. Well, no, actually, he knew the direct root of his absentmindedness. He was hacked off at Malfoy, worried about Ginny, and falling deeper and deeper for Hermione- not a splendid conjugation when trying to focus on flying Quaffles. Ron was performing so horribly, in fact, that he was not surprised in the least when Harry shouted:

"Pay attention, Ron! You'd better start guarding all three of those hoops, or Colin really will be playing for you!"

"That's a death wish," Ron murmured under his breath. He continued to circle the hoops with intent to perform better, although he was sure his improvement was minimal.

So here Ron stood, whole body aching, mind reeling, and a certain feeling of dread for the next two hours of his life. After he was finished locking the fastenings on his robes, he drug his feet over to an oval mirror which hung adjacent to his wardrobe. He started the task of tying up his tie. Never one to be able to perfect this art, or in some cases, not being able to mold it's nexus at all, he muddled it up on the first loop. He pulled the silken fabric back through and took another stab at this bitter challenge. Finally, failing at the fifth attempt, he jerked at the sleek fabric so hard that fiber burns were left on his neck in its wake and hurled it to the floor.

"Ah, bloody piss the damn thing!" he growled. He then flung himself around to make his way downstairs, running right into Harry.

"Having problems there mate?" Harry inquired.

"Bloody ties," Ron mumbled. "They are all a bloody menace."

"Yeah, I can see that," Harry responded. "You know, you could have just asked me to help you with it...although, I must say, it was quite entertaining to watch you try to do it yourself."

"Harry," Ron said through his gritted teeth, "thanks for the offer, but I'm not about to let my best mate help me with my tie!" With his last comment hanging in the air, Ron thumped down to the common room. He knew he had been a bit harsh with Harry, but in all actuality, it was Hermione whose feelings he had to be on guard about, not Harry's. Harry will have forgotten Ron's cheekiness the minute he exited the dormitory.

Ron was hoping Hermione would be in the common room. Perhaps seeing her would soothe is mood and make the whole night worthwhile. When he neared the last landing, he noticed that she was not, but Ginny was climbing through the portrait hole as he crossed the oak floor. She looked rather disheveled, and her face was flushed. If Ron didn't know any better, he thought she appeared as if she had just run a long distance or she had just...

"Ron!" she gasped.

"Ginny...where have you been?" he asked curiously.

"Oh...I had detention with McGonagall."

"What the hell for?" he asked.

"Well..." she was trying to recall the reason she had given Hermione. "I didn't turn in my essay on Switching Spells," she said quickly.

"Oh," Ron said, perplexed. "Well, you know Switching Spells will turn up on your-"

"My O.W.L.'s," she finished for him. "Yes, I know." She had just started for the stairs when she abruptly turned around with a huge grin blanketed on her flushed face.

"You sound just like Hermione; that's the same thing she said when I told her about it."

"Yeah, well..."

Ginny giggled and turned back around to make her way up the stairs. Just then, a questioning thought entered Ron's already befuddled mind.

"Hey Ginny?"

She turned back around slowly, with a hint of anxiety now encompassing itself in her posture.

"Yes?"

"When were you given detention?"

Ginny creased her brows together before answering.

"Yesterday. Why?"

"Well," Ron said slowly, "Hermione and I were given detention yesterday," he then paused for a moment, gritting his teeth, "along with that gormless bastard-"

"By gormless bastard," Ginny said pointedly, putting her hands on her hips, "I assume you mean Malfoy?"

"-so," Ron plowed on, ignoring her pointless interruption, "I don't understand. If we were all punished on the same day, yourself included, why would the three of us serve detention with McGonagall last night and you serve with her tonight? She never runs her detention like that."

Ginny felt all the blood drain from her face. She knew exactly why she served her detention a night after the other three had served theirs. But there was no way in hell she would tell Ron the real reason. To do so would be suicidal torture. She had to once again, make up a plausible excuse that would convince Ron.

"Well, Ron," she began slowly, "I don't rightly know why, but I assume it's because you three are Prefects, so McGonagall felt that your punishments should be more severe then mine, given your leadership position."

"Oh...err...well, I reckon that makes sense." Ron said. Then, that gnawing question that had been biting at him since the previous night decided to show its ugly face, once again. It was a long shot, and he didn't know why he needed to ask her, but he did.

"You're sure you don't know why Malfoy was given detention?" he asked carefully.

"RON!" Ginny snapped, "The answer is the same tonight as it was last night! No, I don't!" And with that, she kipped up to the dormitories, before Ron could interrogate her about any other uncomfortable topics.

"Bloody women," Ron murmured as he made his way out the portrait hole.

He began to walk down to the Great Hall, which was where he was to meet the other Prefect. From this point, they would begin to walk the halls for two tedious hours. Ron wondered who would be with him tonight. He had desperately wanted it to be Hermione, but when he asked her earlier that day, she replied that she was to patrol tomorrow night.

To be quite frank, Ron honestly didn't care who it was; he got along with all the other Prefects quite well. All but Draco "Arsehole Is My Middle Name" Malfoy, of course. Ron grunted at the sheer idea of it. He hadn't patrolled with him yet this term, so he knew the prospect would eventually be inevitable, but Ron desperately hoped it wouldn't be tonight, of all nights. He knew, when the time came when the two of them would be stuck with each other, one of the two would not survive the night.

"Loathe" might not be a strong enough word to exactly describe the feelings Ron had toward Malfoy. He hated everything Malfoy stood for and everything he didn't, however, the one thing that was poison to Ron's veins was the way the prat looked at his sister. It wasn't a look of wanton desire (if that was the case, forget creative curses, Ron would kill the bastard with his bare hands), or a look of hate, or even look of friendship; I was something else, something he couldn't quite lay his finger on. The one thing he most certainly was not confused about, however, was his dedication to watch the slimy git like a hawk.

Ron's footsteps echoed across the corridors as he approached the Great Hall. One large oak door was slightly opened, meaning the other Prefect was more than likely already waiting on him. He slowly pushed the door open enough so he could fit through it. When he stepped through, he stopped dead in his tracks. Ron groaned, turned around, and thumped his head against the sturdy door.

"This...day...couldn't...get...any...bloody...worse," he said in rhythm to his thumping attacks on the door.

"The feeling's mutual, Weasel."

TO ALL THE AMAZING REVIEWERS:

RainDateChick
2005-05-15
ch 9, signed

You updated, so here's your cherry! o (

Response: LOL! Thank you so much!

Emma-Lynn
2005-05-14
ch 9, signed

Aww! I loved this chapter! It would have to be my second favourite chapter, only because chapter 8 was so stunningly brilliant! OOh! so excited for chapter 10! Update SOON!
Emma-Lynn
ps- dont be self concious! your a GREAT writer!

Response: Thank you so much! Yes, I agree with you. Out of the chapters that I have posted (so far), eight is my favorite...but, I kinda like eleven too! But, you'll have to wait for that one:D And thank you for the encouragement-it really helps me! Keep the amazing reviews coming (only if you want to send them!) !

Moonhawkpebbly
2005-05-14
ch 9, signed

Beautifully writen. I think the discriptions of the castle and of the people is wonderful! And i love the similies you use (s'cuse my spelling) they're simply amazing! You're very talented :) You must update soon!

Response: Wow! Thank you so much! I am glad that you like the descriptions. After the first five chapters (which I'm sure you noticed), I decided that I needed to be a lot more descriptive and open up my diction use a little- it makes writing a little more fun too Thank you for the amazing review!

Love That Elf
2005-05-14
ch 9, signed

GAH! I love this bloody story! Update quick, I say!

Response: LOL! Thanks so much! That's what I am doing right now...

fredngeorgegirl
2005-05-14
ch 9, signed

way cute...update soon

Response: Thank you so much!

the-love-of-ron
2005-05-14
ch 9, signed

hey! oh. my. lord. Can i just say that i am totally in love with this story right now! Ive been trying to catch up, reading all the chapters but i havent had a chance to review yet so i hope this makes up for the rest of the chapters! I just love the story! Its just so emotionally charged that i want to cry and sigh like the complete girl that i am...sighs. :p There you go ;) I LOVED the last chapter! It made me feel all giddy and happy, so thanks for that! It was killing me that they were both SO unhappy! And this chapter too, i mean HOW adorable can it get! lol. Keep up the great work! Am loving it! Ta muchly!

Response: Yes you can say that you are totally in love with this story tight now! Can I just say thank you so much:D I am so excited that you liked it that much. I am so glad that it had that effect on you. Sometimes, I try to write to where it will play on people's emotions, so they will enjoy the story more. I'm glad to see that I have achieved that! There are VERY happy now, but they have a lot more to get through. Thanks so much for the review!

Lilly-Eleanor
2005-05-14
ch 9, signed

Nice Capter! I know it's quite embarrassing to be found in such a position by a friend because I've been in that situation once and you described it verry well. I love the last sentence of the chap.

Go on please and update a.s.a.p.! But it doesn't matter if it takes longer because that will make me more excited about the next chap. Lilly-Eleanor

Response: Have you really? And I described it well! YAY! I never have, so I'm really not sure how it feels, but I AM SO glad to know that I wrote it accurate. I'm glad that the wait won't bother you. I have one more pre-written chapter to post (chapter 11) and I am almost finished with chapter 12. Thanks so much for the review!

asiangirl93
2005-05-13
ch 9, signed

I love your story so much!
I feel like crying when I read it. It's so, so, so fullm of passion. Great job! Bravo! Congratulations! you just became one of my favourite authors.

Peace yo:) :

Response: Thank you so much! I am so thankful for all of your kind words. You just made my day!

swimminggodess21
2005-05-13
ch 9, signed

Too cute!

Update soon!

Im waiting for it

good luck on writing chappie 12!

Response: Thank you so much! Chapter 12 is going along smoothly. Hopefully knocks on wood it will be finished today!

Ronandchicken
2005-05-13
ch 9, signed

That is pretty weird about the mods on the other fansite--I don't think I ever learned that.

At the same time, I slept through most of English class when we did grammar, so... I know basics. Just not complicated stuff like quotation marks after interruptions (how do you spell interyeahs?).

But, yet again, the missing quotation mark strikes--this time not after

Ron squinted his eyes at Harry and said, "Oh. Erm…no. He then let out a considerable sigh of relief and slumped back on the sofa. "I was beginning to think you were ruddy mad! I thought you meant-"

So yeah.
At the same time, I liked this chapter a lot.
The first thing I enjoyed was Harry's panic attack at the beginning of the chapter. Not because I thought it was funny, but because it seemed very in character, to me, anyway. Where would Harry be without his friends? And in the 4th book, the mermaids pointed out to us that Harry would be devastated if Ron was lost.

I just liked the way the whole chapter went, though, from there. It just kept getting better and better!
Hopefully, the next few chapters follow the pattern of the last two--totally blew me away :-D

Response: Yeah, well, I'm right there along with you. I HATED the grammar part of my English classes (I always enjoyed the reading part), so my grammar skills (obviously) are not so great. But, I am going to start putting a quotation mark there- it looks a little dodgy without it! I am glad that you liked Harry's reaction, seeing how I was a little nervous about it! Hopefully, the next chapters will follow their pattern. I will tell you this: I was writing chapter eight at the same time that I was reading the most emotionally charged, descriptive book I have ever read. From there on out, I decided that I needed to use WAY more description and WAY more emotion. Seeing how I am still reading that series, there shouldn't be any problem (I hope)! Thank you so much for the review!

Renee25
2005-05-13
ch 9, signed

"GypsytheCentuar" wasn't exaggerating in the least. You really seem to know the characters quite well. Can't wait for Ginny's next appearance, by the way. It should be very interesting indeed.

And I love your articulation! Another highly technical term I must apply to memory: galump

Response: Thank you so much! So...now that you have seen Ginny's next appearance, what do you think? Hmmmm... Thank you so much for the review!

mexflower3
2005-05-13
ch 8, signed

hey! omg! that was adorable! seriously taht is one of the cutest stories that i have read in ever! that is just so cute! ive always loved ron and hermione! they are just too cute together! You did a fabulous (?) job! (sorry i can't spell!)

Peace & Luv!
Steph

Response: Well thank you so much! That was such a nice thing to say! YES! I love Ron and Hermione too lets hope JKR feels the same way Thank you so much for the review!

warrior of tortall
2005-05-13
ch 8, signed

aw. well they still need 2 progress a bit further... it gr8! please write more!

Response: Yes they do...be patient:D Thank you so much for the review!