Ron sat down at a table in the Great Hall next to Harry and across from Hermione, ready to eat dinner. Their food was served and he hungrily stabbed a piece of pineapple-glazed ham with his fork.

"Umbridge is being ridiculous!" Harry said angrily as he picked at his own ham. "She's given me detention again!"

Ron heard giggling as Lavender and Parvati approached him. Hermione looked at them suspiciously as Lavender set a bottle full of goldish liquid in front of Ron. "Here, Ron, I brought you some pumpkin juice," Lavender tittered.

"Uh, thanks, Lavender," Ron replied. "But I already have-"

"Well, have some more!" Laughing she and Parvati went to join Claudia and Stacey at the other side of the table.

"And I am so sick of Snape getting all over my case during our Occlumency lessons," Harry glowered.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked eyeing the bottle Lavender had just set down. "They were being awfully giggly."

Ron shrugged. "It's Lavender and Parvati. They're always acting like that."

Harry smothered his baked potato with butter and sour cream. "And don't get me started on that prophecy! I've got enough things to worry about. Like, Sirius. I wish he would write me once in awhile to tell me he's okay."

"Well, I wouldn't drink that if I were you," Hermione said nodding at the bottle.

Ron picked it up and sniffed it tentatively. "Smells like pumpkin juice." He shrugged. "What, do you think they're trying to poison me?"

"No, something worse," Hermione replied darkly.

Ron laughed. "What could be worse than that?"

"And Cho! Why are girls so cryptic? One minute she's being nice to me; the next she's completely ignoring me or crying over Cedric. And should I be worried that when we kissed we were in front of a photo of Cedric? Maybe I should have thought that over before I kissed her. And I have a bad feeling about her friend. Something about her just spells trouble."

"Ronald Weasley, if I were you, I would not drink that," Hermione warned as Ron held the drink up to his lips.

"Oh, Hermione, quit acting like my mum!" Ron snapped and drowned the potion in one gulp.

"And then this Muggle girl came to me today and told me she wanted to learn to fly. Like I have time to teach somebody to fly! And you really can't teach it; you're either born with it or you're not. To make matters worse, she kept asking me what it's like to be famous and told me we had a lot in common because she's famous in her town because she started a baby-sitting group. Then she proceeded to ask me if I knew of any families who would need baby-sitting while she was here. Some of these American Muggles are insane!"

"I'm not going to be around you when you start acting like an idiot!" Hermione snapped at Ron as she got up from the table and left in a huff.

"What do you mean, start acting like an idiot?" Ron asked after her.

"Oh, and how could I forget Hagrid? I don't know what he's thinking hiding Gwarp in the forest and all-"

Ron turned to Harry. "I'm sorry, did you say something, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "We better go back and start on Snape's homework.

Ron made a face. "Yeah, I guess you're right.

As soon as they were in the Gryffindor Common Room (Hermione was sitting in a corner, furiously writing an essay), a strange sensation overtook Ron. He suddenly felt very light-headed and breathless.

"Harry!" he croaked. "I can't stop thinking about?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, still bent over his Potion's homework.

"I think about her all the time! She has the most beautiful fluffy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes!"

Harry looked up and frowned. "Who are you talking about?" In the corner of the room, he heard Hermione mumble something.

Ron's pupils grew large. "The most beautiful girl I have ever met! Anastacia Elizabeth McGill!"

"Who's that?"

"Stacey McGill, one of the visiting Muggles," Hermione snapped. "That was a love potion he drank at dinner."

"When did Ron drink a love potion?"

"Oh my God, Harry, you are so dense!" Hermione rolled her eyes.

Ron had gotten up from the couch and was twirling around the floor. "I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!"

The door opened and Lavender, Parvati, Claudia, Stacey, and Gillian piled in.

"Oh, no it's too late!" Parvati cried as they saw Ron dancing around the room, a giddy smile on his face.

"Do you know you could get into serious trouble for making a love potion?" Hermione snapped at her Gryffindor roommates. "Who knows who many points we'll have taken away!"

"Oh, stuff it, Hermione," Lavender snapped back.

"Stacey, my sweet! There you are!" Ron ran to Stacey and threw his arms around her.

Stacey tried to pry him away from her. "Ron, no, you have the wrong idea! Isn't there an antidote for this?" she asked as Ron showered her with kisses all over her face.

"You'll have to wait for the potion to wear off, which only takes a few hours," Hermione replied icily. 'In the meantime, I would suggest staying far away from him."

"Right," Stacey said as she grabbed Claudia's hand and they left the room.