A/N: Guess whose back? I am! I've tried to post this story yesterday, but thanks to the rain messing up my internet connection, I couldn't. I'd like to thank JeanAndBilius, notsing and TonyDiNozzo13 for the amazing feedback! Anyways, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I most certainly DO NOT own Harry Potter! The brilliant J.K. Rowling does, not me!

Chapter 7 ~ The Month of September and October

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were heading to DADA. Hermione joyfully walked the hallways to DADA, because Gilderoy Lockhart was now the new DADA teacher. However, Ron and Harry, couldn't stand her fangirling and how her squeals bounced through the hallways. Hermione was not the only one who was fangirling on their way to DADA. A Hufflepuff named, Hannah Abbot, was also fangirling.

"Bloody hell Harry, these girls are gonna start to annoy me by, gawking over Lockhart. Heck, I think he's nothing more than a selfish bastard. Whenever I looked at him, he keeps on combing his bloody perfect hair, and he keeps on looking at that muggle thingy." Ron whispered to Harry.

"They're called mirrors, Ronald. By the way, I'm sure he'll be a brilliant teacher." Hermione in an irritated voice from what Ron said. "As if!" Ron retorted back. Hermione turned around to give Ron a nasty glare and went walking faster to class.

When the trio arrived, they noticed portraits of Professor Lockhart on the walls of the classrooms, literally everywhere. Everywhere you turn, you'll only see portraits of the selfish professor. Hermione sat at the front desk with Hannah, while Harry and Ron sat right behind them.

There appearing at the staircase to the new, which led to his office, was Gilderoy Lockhart. He wore shiny gold robes and polished shoes.

"Morning class!" He said as he smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Good morning, Professor Lockhart." Ron's eyes narrowed at the sight of the professor as he mumbled curse words under his breath.

"Now class, we are going to take a quiz." He paused at he smiled widely as he saw all the girls gawking over him. "About me!" He announced. Ron groaned in agony. He wanted this class to end already. With a flick of his wand, the quiz was now in front of everyone in the class.

"You have half of this class period to finish this, begin!" Ron looked at the quiz and read the questions.

"Blimey, all of these questions are all about him!" Ron spat angrily at Harry in a whisper. Harry just looked at him and shrugged. Ron mumbled and went on reading the questions. While reading the questions, he saw Hermione vigorously writing and writing on the parchment paper.

Ron admired Hermione's perseverance. It was one of the many traits he had liked about her. Ron's thoughts were quickly subsided when he realized he was thinking about Hermione. After all, Ron had been thinking about how Hermione was doing all summer long during their break.

"Times up!" Ron hadn't realized that it had already been time when he woke up from his thoughts. He was screwed for sure.

Professor Lockhart gathered up all the papers and read them all. "Hermione Granger?" He questioned the class. Hermione raised up her hand proudly. "You've gotten the most points out of the whole class! 5 points to Gryffindor!" With that, Ron gripped onto his quill tightly almost making it break until Hermione turned around to see him. She beamed up until she saw the expression on Ron's face.

"Are you alright?" Hermione questioned him. Ron nodded his head and his anger went away to see the concerned look on Hermione's face. "Just checking.." Hermione formed a small smile at him and quickly looked forward to Lockhart.

Ron blushed by the sudden action and Harry noticed. Harry just smiled and went back to pretending to listen to Lockhart. "Now, since this is the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, I'll introduce you to Cornish pixies." Professor Lockhart revealed a cage full of annoying blue pixies.

The cage opened and the pixies came flying around annoying others. A hoard of Cornish pixies came swarming around Neville and let him hung from the chandelier. Lockhart was panicking from the scene like a coward he as. "You three take care of this.." Professor Lockhart said to the trio quickly, while he panicked even more, and locked himself in his office. "SELFISH BASTARD!" Ron yelled out in a fit of rage. and he started to swat the pixies with his old heavy thick book.

"Ron, stop! Now is not the time to be fuming!" Hermione said with irritation in her voice. Hermione then took out her wand and shouted out, "Immobulus!" The pixies froze in midair clearly confused to why they were held back from all their mischief.

After class, Ron went and took deep breaths to calm his mind from everything. Dumbledore taught him ways on how to calm down. One of them was to take deep breaths. Ron didn't want to transform into a monster. He had always wondered how Hermione and Harry would react to him being a werewolf all this time. They wouldn't even accept him anymore. They would label him as a monster. A bloodthirsty monster.

"Ron.." Hermione softly said as she saw Ron quiet. Usually, Ron wasn't very quiet.. They both knew.

"Sorry, just thinking.." Ron said trying to hide any suspicion he was offering.

You filthy little Mudblood!

Hermione was sitting in the Commons room in front of the fireplace as she pretended to read her book. The words Malfoy said to her was an insult to her. Hermione saw Ron throwing up slugs in the bucket as he did his Transfiguration homework along with Harry.

'He threw up slugs, because of me..' Hermione said to herself and blushed from the idea. She smiled at the thought as she continued to watch Ron in his concentrated face.

"I'm done, Ron. I'm going to start my detention.." Harry then, exited the Commons, while putting his written essay inside his satchel.

That left Ron and Hermione, alone in the Commons.

"Ron, are you almost done?" Hermione questioned him. He gave her a simple nod and went back to writing. She loved it when Ron was working instead of being an annoying loud git. A relaxed Hermione was a fun Hermione, well, that's what they all say. As Hermione continued to watch Ron, he made a really quick glance at her and he went back to his essay.

Hermione never fully understood how Ron was so, inhumanly fast and how his reflexes were logically impossible to normal. After all, it was great to have Ron as her best friend. He was brave and overprotective when it came to Hermione's safety. At first, Hermione thought of it as a weird thing best friends do, but she got accustomed to Ron's presence.

He even stood up for her, when Malfoy called her that horrid name.

Mudblood..

Hermione felt tears threatening to fall, and they had succeeded into falling down her cheeks. She sniffed out loud, and the bushy brown haired girl caught Ron's attention to her.

Hermione hid her face from Ron as she cried. Ron then stood up and sat next to Hermione taking the book away from her. Ron's eyes were widened to see a crying Hermione in front of her. He had never seen someone in such despair before.

"Hermione. Are you still thinking about what happened earlier?" Ron asked softly to her trying to comfort her. She nodded her head in response.

"Don't let a git like Malfoy put you down. I know you're strong enough to do it, Hermione.." Hermione wiped away her tears with her thumb and smiled at Ron's encouraging words.

"Thanks, Ron," Hermione whispered. Ron whispered back, "You're welcome.."

The two of them were left in silence. All they heard was the flickering of the slowly dying fire from the fireplace.

"Ron, I think I should get some rest. Thanks for the comforting.." Hermione ran to the stairs up to the girls' dormitories.

"Goodbye Hermione, see you tomorrow.." Ron waved weakly at her. Hermione formed a small smile and went off.

She got into her pajamas and drifted off to sleep at as her two roommates, Lavender and Parvati, talked about beauty products and such.

Classes had already ended and Ron planned on meeting Hermione outside alone to greet her a happy birthday.

"Happy Birthday, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed happily. Hermione turned around to see Ron running up to her all alone. "Ron!" I was looking all over for you!" Hermione said happily to him. Ron sat next to Hermione, who was sitting on a bench near Hogwarts. "It's so beautiful here. I never really got to experience how this world is so much different from mine." She said as she looked to see a beautiful field full of nice and fresh grass. If you were to step on the grass, you would hear a crispy crunch.

"Sorry, I didn't get you anything Hermione. I couldn't really, uh, afford anything.." Ron said ashamed at himself that he didn't get anything for Hermione. "It's alright Ron, I understand," Hermione responded as she looked at him and he looked back. They looked at each other, before looking away.

"You wanna play the game called Truth or Lie?" Ron whispered to Hermione to break up the awkward silence. She nodded her head in agreement. Ron started off first.

"Is it true that your favorite color is lavender?" Ron asked.

"No, my favorite color is actual, periwinkle. How about you?" Hermione said.

"Mines orange," Ron responded while he looked up at the sky.

"Alright, is it true that you've been keeping a secret from Harry and me?" Hermione asked suddenly in a stern voice. Ron couldn't lie to her, she was his best friend. Ron prayed to Merlin, that someone would just come in, and get him away from his current situation.

'I can't tell her I'm a werewolf! She'll think I'm a monster!" Ron started to panic, while Hermione waited for a response.

"Mister Weasley," Ron and Hermione turned around to see Professor McGonagall with Professor Dumbledore along with her. "Please follow us." Ron thanked Merlin and waved Hermione a weak goodbye. Hermione just glared at him as he walked along with the two professors.

"Dumbledore would like to speak to to you." After the long walk to her office, Ron stood in front of her desk awaiting for any questions to be answered. Professor McGonagall closed all the curtains and doors with a flick of her wand and sat on her chair, while Dumbledore stood alongside her, casting a series of silencing charms around her office.

"Have there been any near-transformations, so far?" He questioned him. Ron shook his head for no.

"Very good.." As Dumbledore said this, he took out a potion that was a clear black color. On the label, it said, Liquid Lunar.

"This is a very dangerous illegal potion when exposed to werewolves. When consumed, the person who is a werewolf is forced to transform into a werewolf, no matter what. Even if there is no full moon or if their negative emotions take over them, they will still turn into a werewolf by force. I want you to stay away from this potion at all cost, don't even accept any offer if the potion looks like this.." He shook the potion as it sparkled along with his glasses. "I believe they banned this potion out centuries ago. They used to use this potion for finding out who was a werewolf or not. If they were, they were to be executed.." Ron gulped and frightened of this information.

"I gotta go.." Ron quickly said and ran away to his dorm never to been seen again for the rest of the day.

"Bloody hell, did you see how lifeless she was?" Ron asked as the trio walked into the Commons. "Yup.," Harry responded. "Wonder why.." Ron said. Harry shrugged his shoulders not knowing what was happening.

"It's obvious that someone powerful would do this," Hermione said. "Like Voldemort?" Harry added. "Don't say his bloody name!" Ron suddenly spatted out. The two friends looked at their red-haired friend strangely.

"Sorry. Whenever I hear his name, it just makes me cringe." Ron apologized to the both of them. They both smiled to give him a reassuring smile to him, and they went to sit on the couch.

"Did you hear what Malfoy said?" Harry questioned to the both of them as they stared off to the fireplace.

"Why? What did he say?" Hermione questioned him, eager to hear what he said.

"He talked about how Hermione was going to be petrified next," Harry mumbled.

"That bloody prat! The next time I see him I'll kick his arse!" Ron said angrily. He put his hands in his pockets so they couldn't see his growing claws. "Ron, he's not worth it!" Hermione quickly said to Ron before he could say anything else. However, Ron wanted to continue. "That git wants you to get petrified! Did he threaten you? You think I'd accept his insult directly to you? Hell no!" Ron retorted back. "I can handle myself, thank you, Ronald.." Hermione spat at him.

Ron's ears turned scarlet, as strands of hair stuck out from Hermione. "Oh, I'm sorry for being such a good friend!" Ron said sarcastically. "Wow! I didn't know friends could be these uneasy!" Hermione retorted back. "I didn't know I could have a friend, that was a complete know-it-all.." Ron mumbled. He could feel his claws trying to break free from his pockets, as he tried to contain his anger.

"Is that what you think of me? A complete know-it-all? I mean, that's not the first time I've heard someone called me that.." Hermione said in a strained voice. Her eyes glistened as the moonlight shined on her.. "I'll go off to bed." Hermione whispered quietly, as she wiped her tears with her thumb. Ron's angry vanished all of a sudden as guilt filled him up like a stuffed pig for Thanksgiving. He rubbed his head and turned around to see a shocked Harry.

"You guys don't have to row over everything.." Harry said quietly to Ron. "I know.. I just-" Ron paused for a bit to take a deep breath. "I just don't understand, why we have rows.." Ron said sadly, as he slowly went up the stairs to his dorm, as Harry followed him.