Are the rulers not working for other people or is it just my stupid computer?

Sorry this took a while peeps, altho I am liking the continued reviews :D I wasn't gonna put this chapter in but I kinda needed the bit at the end to make the rest of it more interesting, and funny (hopefully!). Everytime I think about this fic I get the lyrics to 'Say A Little Prayer' by Aretha Franklin in my head..."Forever, forever we never will part, Oh, how I'll love you, Together, together, that's how it must be, To live without you, Would only be heartbreak for me." lol sad but true, and starting to get annoying.

Anyway, let me know what you think, now the real fun can start!

Step ;)

Chapter 9

When Hermione emerged out of the bathroom she went over to her bag and pulled out her quill and bottle of ink and a spare roll of parchment. She put them on her bed and placed her bag at the foot of it, it's usual position when she was in her normal bed.

She turned round and looked at the desk which was facing the wall.

'Do you mind if we do what McGonagal said and put our desks in the middle of the room? I don't really want to face the wall. I'll feel like I've been disobedient in lessons and sent to the naughty table which doesn't let you look at anything other than your work!'

Ron smiled. 'Yeah, like I believe you've ever been sent to the naughty table for being 'disobedient' as you put it! And you want to do your work now? It's gone half ten!'

'I never said I ever had been disobedient, I just said I would feel like I had been if I had to do my work facing the wall! And yes I do want to do my work now. If I don't at least get a good start on it, it'll start to pile up and get on top of me.'

'Hermione, you could be given ten pieces of homework a day and you'd still have time to get it all done and get your knickers in a twist about House Elves too. It's not physically possible for you to not get your work done. Leaving your work 'til tomorrow is not going to cause long term damage!'

'So that's a yes then?' Hermione asked, ignoring Ron's comments and getting the subject back to the position of the desks.

Ron sighed, giving up on his argument. 'Yeah go on then, to be honest I- hey I get a window!'

'You're only just noticing?' Hermione retorted with a smirk on her face.

'Well it's hardly been the first thing on my mind has it? I had enough on my plate trying to get you out of your stupor that looking at the windows was hardly my number one priority!' he grinned at Hermione, and her scowl turned into a smile.

'I wasn't in a stupor! I was just unbelievably annoyed at you. Where did you learn that word anyway?'

'What do you mean? I know fancy sounding words…did I use it right?'

Hermione laughed. 'Well, technically no…sorry. But I've always thought if you say a word in a complicated sentence with enough confidence that people won't question you, and it kind of fitted, I knew what you meant anyway.'

'Well that's good enough for me!'

'So can I move the desks?'

'Yes you can.'

'Finally!'

She waved her wand and placed the two desks together side on to 'Ron's' window so neither of them were either working in their own shadow or blinded by the low winter sun.

She put the chairs in place with another few waves of her wand and moved her quill, parchment and ink to her side of the now square desk.

She sat down and set about writing the title of the essay Snape had set them in their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson – 'Identify which part of the brain is affected by the Imperius curse and describe the best ways to focus the mind in defence against it.'

Ron looked at Hermione's back and heard the scratching of her quill against the parchment.

'You won't guilt me in to doing my homework by forcing me to watch you do yours you know!'

'How, exactly, am I forcing you to watch me do mine?' Hermione asked without looking up from her parchment. She underlined the title and opened her textbook to a picture of the brain shaded in different areas to show where different curses, hexes and jinxes changed the chemistry of the brain cells.

'Well you're sat right in front of me!'

'Ron, when do I not do my homework in front of you?' she asked with a smug smile, knowing Ron couldn't win this argument.

'Well, never, but normally Harry's sat next to me not doing his too so I don't feel so bad, but up here there's just you being all studious and me…not being studious!'

'You could always do your homework before the night before it's due in, Ron! But then again, that would be breaking the habit of a lifetime, wouldn't it?'

'You know you could always just let me copy you, I'd get everything done bang on time if you did!'

Ron had just said the exact words that Hermione would always argue against. If there was one argument at which she would bite, it was this one. Ron smiled knowing the exact response Hermione was going to argue his statement with.

He waited for her to start arguing and then mouthed along when she did.

'How can you possibly learn new things if all you do is copy someone else's wo-?'

Hermione had turned around half way through her sentence and saw that Ron was mouthing her every word.

Ron started laughing at the indignant look on her face.

'Well you just reduced your chance of help with your homework from slim to none!' she said before turning back around to her parchment.

Ron's smile slipped but then appeared back in full force.

'You were actually going to help me?'

'Yes…well, what I actually said was your chances were slim, that doesn't mean I was definitely going to help you.'

'But still, you were thinking about it, weren't you?'

'Ron.'

'What?'

'Please be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate!'

'Oh, sorry.'

Ron stayed lying on his bed for a few minutes before he decided he might as well join Hermione in doing his homework. If she was in a friendly mood then he still might get some help.

After he had collected his quill, book and some parchment he sat himself opposite Hermione and wrote the title of the essay on top of the parchment.

When he looked up Hermione was staring at him.

'What?' he asked, a puzzled look on his face.

'Okay, I know I told you that getting started on your homework was a good idea, but I didn't actually expect you to do it. Are you feeling all right?'

'Yes, Hermione, I'm fine. I told you, you guilted me into it!'

'Doing your homework and adding new words to the English language, you are on fire tonight aren't you!'

Hermione smirked and got back to her essay. She had already written about the part of the brain that is affected by the curse, now she had to do the hard part of the essay.

Ron was looking at the labelled diagram of the brain in his textbook and reading the paragraph which accompanied it. His brow furrowed as he read the words and glanced occasionally at the drawing. He started writing his opening paragraph in which he answered the first part of the question. His brow furrowed as he re-read the paragraph, and sighed when he decided when he was happy with it, but he thought he'd take advantage of Hermione's good mood.

'Er…Hermione?'

'MmmHmm,' she replied, not looking up from her writing.

'Would you mind just reading through my first paragraph? Because if I've got that bit wrong then I'll have messed up the whole essay!'

Hermione looked at him.

'Okay,' she said simply.

'Oh! Thanks!'

He handed her his parchment and waited patiently whilst Hermione read the paragraph. When she had finished reading it she handed Ron the parchment.

'It's fine,' she said at his questioning stare.'

'It is?' he asked slightly surprised.

'You're surprised?'

'Well a bit, you normally find at least ten mistakes!'

'In a full essay I do, but that's just a paragraph.'

'Oh…right.'

'You should have more confidence in yourself Ron, you're good at Defence Against the Dark Arts.'

The tips of Ron's ears turned ever so slightly pink. He mumbled something incoherent and Hermione smiled and went back to her essay, which was now reaching a foot in length.

An hour later Ron looked up from his parchment and was slightly surprised by how much he had written. He had fulfilled the requirements and written two feet already and he still had to write his conclusion.

He looked up at Hermione and saw she had written a foot more than was necessary and was still writing feverishly. She stopped as she yawned a yawn that might have dislocated her jaw had it gone on for a few more seconds and then went back to her writing.

'Hermione, if you're tired you should stop.'

'I'm not tired!' she replied without looking up at Ron.

'Oh so I just imagined that jaw-breaking yawn did I?' he asked, knowing she couldn't argue.

'Yes you must have!' she replied, but not without a small smile making its way onto her face.

'Okay, I know you have to be right all the time but lying is just wrong Hermione, I'm very disappointed in you!' Ron said in a very calm and controlled voice.

Hermione looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

'Okay fine, I'm tired! Happy now?'

'No, you're still writing.'

'But I just have to finish this paragraph before I start my conclusion.'

'If I believed that was all you were going to write then I'd let you, but I know you too well Hermione. As soon as you finish that paragraph you'll start your conclusion, so I'm afraid I'm gonna have to stop you right now.'

'Just one more minute,' she replied, as she scratched her way across the parchment.

'You have thirty seconds, starting…now!'

Hermione didn't look up at Ron during his small demand, but a small smile made its way across her face, and she carried on writing.

'Fifteen – sixteen – seventeen…twenty-one – twenty-two…twenty-six…'

'Don't think I haven't noticed you missing out random numbers, I can still listen whilst writing you know, I'm not you!'

'Twenty-se- hey! I can do more than one thing at once! And don't try and get me off topic! You've had your thirty seconds, it's time to stop writing and go to bed.'

Hermione put a full stop at the end of her sentence and put her quill down on the parchment.

'Fine, I'm done, I'm going.'

They stood up from the table and made their way to their beds. Hermione pulled her pyjamas from underneath her pillow and walked towards the bathroom. Halfway there she stopped.

'You don't mind if I use the bathroom first do you?' she asked Ron.

'No, not at all, just don't be too long!'

Hermione smiled as she walked over to the door and disappeared through it.

When the both of them were lying in bed Hermione drew her curtains. Just as she had lay down and closed her eyes, Ron shuffled in his bed.

'Hermione,' he said in a questioning tone.

'Yes?' she replied sleepily.

'Well, you haven't really said…well, actually you have, but I think you've warmed to the idea a bit since then…'

'Ron, that wasn't a sentence!'

'I hadn't finished! Be patient woman!'

'Woman!' Hermione screeched, but Ron could tell by the tone of her voice that she was smiling.

'Yes woman. Shh! As I was saying, or at least trying to…you haven't told me how you feel about our little 'situation' as it keeps being called.'

Hermione rolled onto her side and pulled back the curtains.

'Why do you want to know?' she asked as she propped her elbow onto her pillow and rested her head in her hand.

'I dunno, I just want to make sure you're not bothered by it.'

Hermione surveyed him for a minute before answering.

'It's like Dumbledore said isn't it? It's not as if we're ever too far from each other, and we've known each other for years. It's not as if we're complete strangers, that would be awkward, but we know each other, so it's not. It doesn't bother me. Really it doesn't, just don't surprise me with too many dirty habits I don't know about. I don't think I'd cope!'

He laughed. 'Don't worry, I won't!'

Hermione opened her eyes at twenty-seven minutes past four and rolled over. Her mouth was unbelievably dry and she was gasping for a drink. She couldn't be bothered finding her wand and conjuring herself a glass of water so she shuffled out of bed and walked towards the bathroom.

'Hermione?' Ron asked through his drawn curtain.

'Ron, why are you awake?'

'I have no idea, what about you?'

'I need some water. I didn't mean to wake you.'

'You didn't…I don't think. I just woke up.'

'Oh, okay.'

Hermione turned and went into the bathroom, emerging thirty seconds later with the glass her and Ron's toothbrush had found a home in, filled with water.

She sat on the edge of her bed and gulped down her water, finishing the drink off in a few seconds.

She put the glass down on her bedside table and glanced at Ron. He was looking at the glass.

'Oh, sorry, did you want some of that?'

'Er, yeah actually. I'll go get some more.'

Hermione got back into bed as Ron went to fill up the glass. She snuggled under the sheets and closed her eyes.

Ron went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet, he put the glass under the tap and turned the tap on. As he watched the glass fill up his eyes became heavy. He reached up to the tap and turned it off. He was about to stand up when his eyes closed. His head fell to the side and settled on the top of the cistern.

At the exact same second both Hermione and Ron fell asleep.