The Granger Crush

by kelsoei

Plain Old Hermione Granger would never impress her one true love Ron Weasley, so she pushes herself as she never has before: Spectacular feats, brilliant magic, even managing her bushy hair, but nothing impresses her Ron. Meanwhile, Mediocre Ron wonders why the best student since Albus bloody Dumbledore has made it her sodding mission to humiliate an insignificant nothing like him.

13. Ron's Fantastic Mo(u)rning

Chapter 13 - Ron's Fantastic Mo(u)rning

The first thing Ron Weasleydid after waking was growl, "Where is she?" No, he must have still been asleep. Why else would Mum and Dad and Charlie and Bill be here at Hogwarts? Why'd he be in the Gryffindor Common Room? Afterall, he'd been stunned in the classroom by McGonagall's office after he'd grown suspicious of Hermione's shady test and walked in on her torturing Scabbers. She'd stunned him then, and put him to sleep somehow. Probably some advanced curse, it was Hermione after all, and she thought that just because she was a bloody genius it gave her the right to lie to his face and hurt his rat and there was nothing he could do about it because he was just Ron and she was Hermione bloody Granger. Well, maybe he couldn't beat her one-on-one, but he'd sic the Twins on her, or Percy if they wouldn't do it.

"Ronnie," said Percy.

"It's Ron." Ron scowled. Even in his dreams, Percy was a prat.

"Ronnie," Percy continued pompously, as if Ron hadn't spoken. "It's about my pet rat Scabbers."

"My pet rat," Ron corrected.

"Ah yes… Well… As it… As it turns out, Scabbers is actually a criminal named Peter Pettigrew. He was an unregistered animagus. He killed Madam Pomfrey to keep his identity secret. He was… is… a death eater," Percy finished lamely.

"Cobblers," Ron said, chortling as obnoxiously as he could. "Don't be a blooming idiot, Perce."

Wait, since this was his dream and Perce was just a figment of his own imagination, hadn't he really just called himself an idiot? Bloody hell, he really was just a few rocks short of being as slow as a mountain troll wasn't he?

"Don't call your brother that childish nickname," Mum said disapprovingly. "You know how it bothers him, Ronnie."

Ron sniffed. Even in his dreams, everyone was against him.

"I… I let him sleep with me for years." Percy shuttered. Mum rubbed his shoulder supportively. "My Prefect Badge will surely be taken from me for this!"

"I doubt it," said Charlie. "I was around Scabbers almost as long as you and didn't notice a thing. You can't blame yourself, Percy."

Ron could stand it no longer. He exploded. "Don't tell me you're all buying Hermione's stupid story! I was there y'know! She'd tortured Scabbers, she stunned me when I tried to stop her, and now she's trying to cover it up by saying he's a bloody animagus! If he were, why would he let her torture her half to death? I should've never trusted her- she was Slytherin and she tricked me into thinking she was decent! Never again! I'll make her regret taking advantage of me! Fred, George, you've got to help me get back at-"

"Would you shut up you bloody idiot," Ginny snapped. "You're making an arse of yourself again Ron."

"Language young lady," Mum snapped, bopping Ginny on the head.

"Where's the proof then," Ron demanded. "I know what's happening! You two snakes are working together so both of you can get credit for catching a sodding death eater! Credit," Ron spat, he'd thought he'd meant more to Ginny than some silly award. And maybe he'd thought he'd meant more to Hermione too… "That's all you rotten Slytheri-"

"Enough!" Dad roared. "You're not to speak to your sister that way Ronnie!"

Ron huffed, but it was Ginny who flinched.

"Once we'd split and you went after Hermione, I went to… I should've gone to McGonagall like you told me, but I went to Dumbledore instead. I told him Hermione had been attacked, and we rushed back, and that's when I… I saw him," said Ginny quietly. "Peter Pettigrew. Half the school did. He was lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. Hermione took off his hand, broke his other, and Hagrid knocked him out when he and Harry found him stumbling in the hall like he'd been confounded. Dumbledore healed him right up, and then he and Snape went to the dungeons to question him with veritaserum. Dumbledore made an announcement that Madam Pomfrey was killed by a rat animagus named Peter Pettigrew. Dumbledore said he'd be speaking with the Minister of Magic tonight... Probably to give Hermione some fancy award." Ginny's smile was wide and earnest. "She deserves it. Bloody hell."

"Much more likely the Minister is coming to see Pettigrew for himself in order to free Sirius Black," Dad corrected. "If Peter Pettigrew is alive and a death eater, it really makes me wonder whether Sirius Black was truly guilty. We let so many death eaters walk free on the imperius defense, and the one man who was innocent we sent to Azkaban without a trial. It really makes me question Barty Crou-"

"Not now Arthur," Mum snapped.

Ron's heart sank. So Hermione had been right. Scabbers… Pettigrew must've False Memory Charmed him. Hermione had probably saved his life… And yet… He knew it was wrong… He knew it made him rotten… He knew he shouldn't feel this way… But…

He hated Hermione Granger.

What was wrong with him?

"You're likely confused," said Fred.

"But dearest Ronnie," said George.

"You've been put under a False Memory Charm," said Fred.

"You'll see if you examine your memories," said George.

"Certain discrepancies," said Fred.

"So we're very curious," said George eagerly.

"About what you remember," said Fred.

"For you see," said George.

"It will reveal," said Fred.

"The mind of a total heel," finished George. Fred glanced at George disappointedly.

"Heel?" Asked Fred, shaking his head. "That's the best you could do? Any old person can be a heel. Serial killer would have been much better."

'Then you should have set me up better," George said dismissively. "Reveal- what was I supposed to do with that?"

"It didn't have to rhyme," argued Fred. "It's more important to be clear. This is Ronnie we're talking to."

"I suppose you're right," George conceded.

"I already figured I'd been placed under a False Memory Charm," Ron grumbled. "I'm not as dumb as you think, you know, I didn't need you to explain it to me. Anyways I just remember going in to check on Scabbers, and Hermione hexing me. That's it."

Dad snorted. "Of course. Pettigrew isn't a fool. The less complicated the lie the better. It's that kind of mind which would think to frame Sirius Bla-"

"Not now Arthur," Mum snapped. "Percival has just found out that his pet rat of almost a decade was a death eater all along. Try to be supportive."

"Ron too," Ginny said. "Scabbers was Ron's pet too."

"That's right, Ronnie too," Mum said, wrapping Ron in a hug. "I'm so, so happy you're safe Ronnie, my precious baby boy!"

Ron huffed but hugged Mum back. He didn't care about Scabbers… Pettigrew. Dumb rat… Death eater… He cared not at all. Not at all.

Ron sniffed.

Despite what everyone thought, he wasn't stupid. He knew Scabbers… Pettigrew was a rat… death eater, so there wasn't anything to be sad about. Crying was for girls- and he didn't want to be a girl, no matter what Ginny said!

Ronnie- Ron hugged his mum, he shook and trembled, but he did not cry because boys didn't cry. "I'm not crying," Ron told the Twins, wiping his eyes before they could say anything.

The Twins shared a meaningful look. Ron wouldn't cry- no matter what they said, he wouldn't cry. He wouldn't. Mum would make a big fuss and the Twins would say they were sorry- which they'd never do to Bill or Percy or even Ginny- and Dad, Dad would look at him like...

"You lot have missed out on quite a bit," Fred told the rest of the family, taking everyone's eyes off Ron.

"It turns out our Ginny is some kind of wunderkind on a broom," said George.

"She and Harry Potter helped save a first year student on their first day flying," said Fred.

"Some oaf lost control of the broom," said George. Ron clenched his teeth. Neville wasn't some oaf.

"Poor sap rose and rose until he was higher than the tallest tower," said Fred.

"Got bucked right off his broom."

"But Harry Potter saved him," said Fred.

"And our Ginny saved Harry," said George proudly.

"As a reward, she was one of the first first-years in a hundred years to make the House Team!"

Mum, Dad, Bill, and Charlie all beamed at Ginny. Ginny blushed. Sickening. How proud would they be if they knew the truth- that their precious Ginny was the Heir of Slytherin? What was so great about being a little good at quidditch?

"She's just a reserve," Ron clarified helpfully. "It's not that impressive. Also I was the one who saved Neville in the end." Ron puffed out his chest. "I didn't rush in. I kept my cool, observed the situation from a distance, came up with a plan, and put myself in position to make a difference- just like you always tell me Dad! Harry dropped Neville after Draco pulled him out of a tailspin, but I was there to catch him!"

"Really?" Asked Charlie, impressed. "Being on the reserve team is a big accomplishment Ginny, especially for a first year! Make sure you practice like a starter and soon enough you will be- at least if your captain's any good. And I know Wood's good- say what position do you play?"

Ron sniffed, sulkin- he wasn't sulking! What was so great about making a quidditch team anyways? He'd saved Neville, and even helped him feel better about himself- that was what mattered!

"Chaser or Seeker," said Ginny, not nearly as excitedly as she should have been to have earned Charlie's attention. Of course, Ginny was always Mum's perfect little girl so for her being admired by everyone was nothing special. Little brat.

"Perfect," said Charlie happily, Dad and Mum nodding along thoughtfully. "Focus on becoming a Seeker."

"I like playing Chaser better," said Ginny stonily.

"But we've got a hole at Seeker!" Charlie said excitedly. "You've got to do what's best for the team! I don't know why Wood's put you on the reserve squad, he should be getting you starter reps even if it costs us a couple games this year. Our whole team's young though- in a few years I expect you and the Twins to bring back the cup to Gryffin… Err… The, err… The… Seeker is a seventh-year in your house as well. Probably still a good idea to play seeker."

"Right," said Ginny. She said no more. Neither did anyone else. A tension filled the Gryffindor Common Room as every member of his family looked at their feet like a bunch of idiots. As usual, Ron had no idea what was going on, and as usual, it was up to him to straighten things out.

"Aside from saving Neville Longbottom's life," said Ron, breaking the awful silence. "I also saved Ginny and Harry from a troll."

"Truly? This is just one of Ronnie's tall tales isn't it? Surely Ginny couldn't have actually been attacked by a troll?" Dad asked Percy, Fred, and George. They shook their heads. Dad frowned, looking properly troubled.

"Don't worry Dad, the troll was dead after I was through with it," Ron said proudly. It was true. Afterall, he'd called Professor Snape and Professor Snape had killed the troll. In other words, Ron had killed the troll. Too many details ruined a story, Ron reasoned reasonably, so his retelling was really only for the listener's benefit.

Charlie looked at him skeptically. "That can't be true Ronnie. What really happened?"

"He just buggered a teacher for help," Ginny said dismissively. "It was Hermione Granger and Harry Potter who actually fought the troll. Harry blew off its eye using Flipendo and Hermione cut off its hand using Wingardium Leviosa. Harry's really brave and Hermione's the smartest person I've ever met."

Charlie nodded.

Ron huffed. "Yeah, well for all their fancy magic we'd have all been killed if Snape hadn't heard me calling for help! I'm the one who really saved you Ginny! I'm the true hero!"

"Very true Ronnie," said Bill patronizingly, as if he were talking to a toddler. "It was very responsible of you to alert the authorities. A troll is much too dangerous for you to handle. Ginny, what's Hermione Granger like? Is it true what everyone is saying, that she's the next Albus Dumbledore? I thought it was all just exaggeration, but I've never heard of anyone using Wingardium Leviosa like that, couple that with the whole Peter Petti-"

"She's a genius- no doubt about it, but also a liar and a braggart," said Ron coldly.

"Ron's just jealous," said Ginny. "You know how he gets." Bill and Charlie nodded, even though he was their brother, and Hermione was just a stranger. As always, everyone was against him. Ron glowered and moped but nobody paid attention to him because it was far more important to gossip about how perfect Hermione Granger was, how she'd learned Algeria-bra when she was seven (whatever that was), how she had let Ginny use her new textbooks when she was done with them(just another way to make Ginny look poor in front of everyone- how did Ginny not see this?), how she was the second coming of Merlin himself when it came to all things magic (If she hadn't been such a show-off and turned Scabbers red, none of this would have happened), how she'd figured out who Scabbers was almost immediately, and tried to protect everyone in secret (but not by telling Dumbledore of course- that would have been too sensible and who would be impressed by that? Why did she always act so desperate to impress people anyways- she was already a bloody genius, it was sickening). Dad pulled him out of his bed, to a corner of the Boys' Dorm, as Ginny told Bill and Charlie about Hermione's crush on Harry Potter (which explained who Hermione was trying to impress- of course it was Harry bloody Potter. It always was. Just once Ron would like to meet a girl who wanted to impress him, but of course that was impossible because no girl would ever like him- and it certainly wouldn't be Hermione Granger).

"Ronnie…" said Dad nervously, glancing around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "Don't you think it's, err… odd, that Percy's pet rat just happened to be a death eater?"

"My pet rat," Ron said.

"Right, right," said Dad. "Your pet rat… The troll… Ginny in Slytherin. Very strange, don't you think?"

Wait… Wait… Dad was right. Too many coincidences, all lined up in a row. "You think Peter Pettigrew let in the troll?" Ron asked. "I dunno. I think it must've been someone else. One of the professors, probably. Ginny would never work with someone she knew was a death eater. She isn't evil, Dad, she's just- you know… Slyther-"

Dad bopped him on the head. "You're not to talk of your sister that way!"

What'd he done wrong? He'd been blooming standing up for her. "Sorry," Ron said automatically. "Anyways, I don't think Pettigrew is the one who helped Ginny get the troll into Hogwarts. If she had known he was an animagus she'd have figured he was the murderer, and Ginny would've turned him in."

"Ronnie…" Dad sighed. "Ginny didn't let the troll into Hogwarts. I understand that it's hard on you… Being… Well… Are you ever ashamed that I'm not more successful, son?"

"Of course not!"

"And I'm not ashamed of you either," said Dad, gripping his shoulder tightly. "For not being like your brothers or your sister. Me and your mum- we don't expect you to be like the others. It wouldn't be fair."

Boys didn't cry.

Ron looked at a hole in his sock. "Err..."

"Anyways," said Dad briskly. Ron tried his best to listen, but he'd just realized that his toenails were a bit long, y'know? Toenail hygiene had always been very, very important to Ron. "Think about it logically. Haven't you ever wondered why we, the Potters, and the Longbottoms all went into hiding? Dumbledore told us that You-Know-Who would be hunting little Harry, little Neville, little Ginny. Me and Frank used the Fidelius Charm- named Dumbledore our Secret Keeper, and the Potters used Sirius Black, or I now suspect- Peter Pettigrew. After the Potters perished Dumbledore told me and Frank that little Ginny and little Neville were no longer in danger, and never would be again. It seemed obvious to me that a prophecy had been made about the three babies, and You-Know-Who had chosen Harry… But I'm sure you've noticed… Ginny is special."

Of course he'd noticed. New robes, new wand, he wouldn't be surprised if they bought her a new bloody broomstick. All because she was a girl!

...No…

Ginny had always been the most talented Weasley. Better at magic than Bill. Better at studying than Percy. Better at flying than Charlie. She was even better at being sneaky than Fred and George. But more than anything Ginny had an unexplainable need to be the best at everything… At least he'd thought it was unexplainable- turned out she was just afraid that if she wasn't so bloody brilliant everyone would treat her like they treated him.

"Neville isn't. And Harry… From what I've heard he is brave and kind and… He's a good kid, but he's not special either. The more Ginny grew the more I wondered if You-Know-Who just went after Harry because he was the only one of the three he could get to. If maybe, when he finally returned, he'd come after Ginny once he realized his mistake. Then I learned that Pettigrew had infiltrated our family, that a troll was set on Ginny, that she was… sorted into… That someone had confounded the Sorting Hat and tricked it into sorting my daughter into Slytherin. Foul-play, it's the only explanation. You-Know-Who has realized his mistake and he's after your sister. I'll do what I can, but… This is a lot to ask of you Ronnie, but you're the one closest to Ginny, you're the only one who can look out for her. You have to be strong, you have to grow up, you have to figure out your jealous streak. Promise me you'll protect Ginny, Ron."

Oh…

Of course.

Dad wanted him to protect Ginny. Perfectly reasonable. Understandable. Scabbers… Pettigrew- he'd kept going to the Slytherin Common Room. So it… Made...

Why were all the beds in the dormitory floating?

That was strange.

Why were his cheeks wet?

Boys didn't cry.

Why couldn't he stop crying?

This was stupid. He was being stupid. He wasn't even sad.

"GET OUT!" Ron bellowed. His family got out. And all he could think about was how he'd been attacked by a Death Eater, and Dad was worried about Ginny.

The beds broke when Ron finally got over himself and they smashed back into the ground. Of course they did. What a mess. He had to walk down to the Gryffindor Common Room and get Mum to fix everything up- just like when he was a child and his magic had leaked out. He wouldn't ask Dad. Embarrassing, but he had to do it. Get through it. Seamus and Dean stared at him. Fred and George were looking at him funny. Nobody said anything. Nobody asked him what the loud sounds had been or about his red eyes. Nobody had to.

Ron burned with shame."Mum, the beds… They… Can you…"

Mum nodded, and followed him up the stairs. With a wave of her wand the Dormitory repaired itself.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mum asked. "Or should I go?"

Ron waved her off and sulked alone, until Harry walked up to meet him a few hours later. Fred and George had probably told him all about what had happened, or Seamus, or Dean, or just… Somebody. That Ron was a big crybaby who sometimes just… just… lost control of his magic… He was eleven, and he'd lost control of his magic- even little kids didn't lose control of their magic. Time to face up to it.

There was no way Harry would want to be his friend now.

"Don't you think Hermione's just brilliant," said Harry glowingly. "Thanks to her I don't have to spend the summer with the Dursleys."

Ron swallowed. "Yeah… Really great…"

And for the rest of the night, Ron was forced to endure Harry go on and on about how great Hermione was and how could he argue? She caught criminals while he fed them treats and let them sleep with him, she'd been performing sixth-year spells since she'd walked on the train while he lost control over his magic and got it all over his bed, she was the most talented witch since Dumbledore while he was struggling just to get by.

The next morning, the Great Hall buzzed in excitement. Sitting right beside Dumbledore were two men. To his left was the gaunt figure of Sirius Black- the man famous for betraying the Potters and killing twelve death eaters, You-Know-Who's second-in-command. And to his right was a pudgy man, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

"Ooh, is that him? Is it really him?" Mum asked, pointing to a handsome man sitting next to Sirius Black. That was, err… He was smiling for some reason, and Ron looked away, blinded by the man's white teeth and nauseated by the accompanying giggling of every girl around him. "Gilderoy Lockhart, the finest ma- adventurer in all of Britain."

Ron was more concerned with the red-headed man next to Lockhart. Dad. Whose gaze was locked onto Ginny. She was sitting next to Hermione, and the two of them were gossiping to a sharp-eyed blonde woman with a predatory smirk and an enchanted quill.

A reporter. A bloody reporter was interviewing her.

Cornelius Fudge stood and the school quieted. "Last night, Albus Dumbledore of the Order of Merlin called me to Hogwarts. As a fellow order member, I did not question him, I made haste and I found perhaps the most extraordinary of things. Peter Pettigrew had been apprehended. As you can imagine, I was quite surprised." Fudge smiled at the blonde reporter, and his voice rose. "Afterall, Sirius Black had been put in Azkaban for life by Barty Crouch Senior for murdering poor, innocent Pettigrew. And yet there was Peter Pettigrew, staring right back at me. He had been put under veritaserum- before I arrived of course- and confessed to working for the Dark Lord, to betraying the Potters, to killing twelve muggles and framing an innocent man, to being an unregistered animagus, and to more recently killing Poppy Pomfrey. And I trust Dumbledore of course, but unlike others- I am careful. I verify before making decisions. As the Minister of Magic, it is my duty. So I retrieved young Sirius Black from Azkaban, and he demanded to be put under veritaserum. And his story matched Pettigrew's. He did not betray the Potters. He confronted Pettigrew. The only crime he was guilty of was being an unregistered animagus- and he has served more than enough time for that. Mister Black, on behalf of the ministry of magic, I release you from Azkaban and humbly apologize. Of course... I was not the one who convicted you without so much as a trial. Barbaric… Ten years in Azkaban... I cannot imagine the horror you must have gone through. That was truly an unforgivable mistake.

"But of course, that was not the extraordinary thing I found," Fudge said, his voice brightening. "You see, contrary to my expectations Albus Dumbledore was not the one who apprehended Peter Pettigrew and uncovered his crimes. No, that honor belonged to a brilliant, muggleborn, first-year student. Miss Granger, please stand."

Hermione stood, absolutely glowing.

"Last night our order lost a member. This morning we should gain a member. Hermione Jean Granger, for apprehending a violent death eater and clearing Sirius Black's name, I award you the Order of Merlin, Second Class."

Hermione skipped to the Minister of Magic, practically bursting with happiness as he awarded her a golden medallion on a purple ribbon. Enchanted cameras floating in the Great Hall flashed like twinkling stars. every eye in Hogwarts, in all of magical Britain on her.

Ron glowered unnoticed.

The Minister smiled next to Hermione for a few moments, then nodded to her and Dumbledore, and strolled away. The cameras stayed on Hermione though.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Perhap 300, no, let's say 400 points to Slytherin for Miss Granger's work, and an award for special services to the school."

Giving Slytherin 432 points in total, a slight lead over second-place Ravenclaw's 27. Everyone clapped though- even the Gryffindors- nevermind that Hermione had ruined the game for everyone. How was Ron supposed to care about classes now? Of course, nobody cared about what happened to him- everyone was against him.

"Although we must not allow Miss Granger's brilliance to obscure the help she received," said Dumbledore gravely. "No feat like this is accomplished alone. To Mister Harry Potter, whose excellent questions prompted Miss Granger to discover that Poppy's killer was an animagus, I give an award for special services to the school and 20 house points. To Miss Ginny Weasley, for brewing an impeccable sleeping potion which allowed Miss Granger to apprehend Peter Pettigrew, I give an award for special services to the school and 30 house points." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, as Harry and Ginny joined Hermione in front of the school.

Ron's stomach curled. He knew what was coming next. Hermione had told Dumbledore some lie that'd make him look good, as if that made up for what she'd done.

"And to Mister Ron Weasley, for standing guard by the door after Poppy was murdered and protecting your friends, for ensuring that nobody got in or out and making the case truly solvable, I give an award for special services to the school and 40 house points."

Mum wrapped Ron in a hug.

"That's my brother, my littlest brother," said Percy proudly.

Dad beamed, looking proud for once.

Even the Twins clapped enthusiastically, without a hint of sarcasm.

Ron tried to force down the bile in his throat. He stifled his anger, his rage, compressed it into a ball in his stomach. This could have, should have, been the greatest moment of his life. This was the best he'd ever do, winning an award, being applauded by the entire school.

He forced on a smile and walked to the front of the school. Get through it. He just had to get through it.

"Oh Ronald," said Hermione happily, showing him her golden bloody Order of bloody Merlin. "Have you seen my award? Isn't it brilliant? I had been so hoping that Minister Fudge would present me this award- which was started in the fifteenth century by the Wizengmot- but I kept telling myself it was impossible, even though it did seem like a rather large accomplishment. But being inducted to the Order is a great honor you see. I'm the youngest in history of course, to win an Order of Merlin, First Class."

Ron's mouth hung open. Really? Really? Even about this?

First Class?

"It's Second Class," Ron choked out. "Fudge just announced it to the entire school three minutes ago. Just how stupid do you think I am? Why would you even say that?"

"I… I don't know." Hermione blushed and looked away. "I just thought Second Class wasn't good enough…"

Not good enough? No bloody Weasley had ever won an Order of Merlin, not First Class, not Second Class, not Third Class, not at any age and certainly not as a first year.

"So you just lied to me?" Ron asked. Something inside him snapped, and the floating cameras, the cups on the table exploded. "Just like you lied to me about Scabbers. I thought you were my friend, and when I asked you if you were going to hurt Scabbers, you looked into my eyes, you held my hands, you made me think you cared about me, AND YOU LIED STRAIGHT TO MY FACE! ALL THIS TIME YOU'VE BEEN USING ME SO YOU COULD GET AT SCABBERS! WELL CONGRATULATIONS! YOU KILLED MY RAT AND EVERYONE LOVES YOU FOR IT! YOU... You promised me nothing would happen to him, Hermione. I trusted you."

"Ronald," Hermione spluttered. "Mister Pettigrew was right there when I said that. You do realize he'd have killed us, don't you? I had to be dishonest, but I'd never lie to you if I had a choice."

"You just did," Ron said. "Ten seconds ago. What's your excuse for that?"

"I…" Hermione looked miserable. "But that was…"

"Ron," said Harry gently. "You do realize that Scabbers was a murderer don't you?"

"Well he was also my pet rat," Ron said vindictively. "And she murdered him. So I guess they're both murderers aren't they?"

"Ron, shut up," Ginny snapped. "This is not the time nor the place to throw one of your little hissy fits. We're in front of the entire school if you haven't forgotten. And, Ron- Rita Skeeter is here. You really need to shut your bloody mouth right now or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Well good," said Ron, and he looked at the blonde woman with sharp eyes who seemed positively gleeful, her enchanted quill writing furiously. "Hermione Granger may be the most brilliant person I've ever met, but she doesn't care about people. She didn't go after Peter Pettigrew to free Sirius Black, she did it so she could impress Harry Potter and win an award. She definitely didn't do it for good ole Madam Pompom. And well, she probably doesn't care- but I'm not about to forgive what she did. She used me, lied to me, and I'm not gonna forget. Our friendship, if it ever really existed, is finished."

Not until she said she was sorry of course. He wasn't a bloody idiot- he knew Scabbers was a death eater and a murderer.

Hermione ran away crying.

Ron smiled broadly. What a fantastic morning.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I felt this was a fair comeuppance for the way Hermione handled everything. She deserves an award, but she also deserves to deal with all the danger she put Ron in, and the way she used her friends like pawns. I will say this, something big is going to be revealed in the next chapter. I'm convinced I've laid enough clues for you to predict the twist, but think long and hard about why chapter ten is titled what it is. Thanks to ILRB80 for beta reading this chapter. Now onto the reviews:

Gja03 - Thanks! Looking forward to writing this next arc!

Miva4 - Thank you! Ginny plays a vitally important role in this story though. She needs to be here. You're not really supposed to like her if that helps, but she plays a vital role, one of which being giving Hermione somebody to talk to in Slytherin.

Luiz4200 - Sirius would be a terrible guardian, arguably worse than the Dursleys, specifically for someone like Harry. I don't think we need to worry about Harry going dark like Voldemort. To me, the bigger worry is that Harry's recklessness is indulged, and he hurts people out of ignorance. But Sirius is an adult, and maybe he can grow into a proper guardian now that he knows his own faults. I'm planning on having Sirius try to make amends with Snape, now that he realizes what he did to him. Thanks for the review!

ViviTheFolle - Yeah. Snape's actions with Harry are something I'm willing to forgive, but the way he bullies Neville kinda just makes him a bad person. I would say that Hermione is meant to be OP, but… Her feats aren't quite as impressive as they might seem. She is meant to be OP though. I think of her as a genius with absolutely no wisdom, and that's why she's so fun to write. She can overcome any obstacle, and not once stop to consider whether she actually should. And that lesson in humility is coming, and what kinda story would this be if it didn't hurt really really bad.

Iwik - My impression was that Sirius thought Ginny shared a lot of resemblance to Snivellus and Wormtail. But he wasn't gonna be so cruel as to label her like that, even to himself without meeting her. The true end to this arc is coming next chapter, when the largest player in the events finally gets a viewpoint.