A/N: I kinda like where my evil little muse has taken me. Usually I end up at dead ends, but this is quite nice. I'll continue now...please tell me if there is anything you don't like!

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That was probably the worst block of Potions I had ever taken. Honestly, I know I'm going to fail that course anyways, and nobody, not even Hermione and her persistent badgering, is going to let me take it next year. Like, come on, if we have the choice to drop a hated course, most normal people would drop it. But then again, Hermione isn't exactly the white sheep. She's more of the blue sheep in the bunch.

Harry walked up to me with a lopsided grin on his face.

"What, Harry."

"Pumpkin juice." He said, looking like I had just said the most fabulous thing on earth.

"Yes, Harry, pumpkin juice," Which, for some unexplainable reason sent him into peals of laughter.

"His Merry Jinx backfired. Stupid git, he aimed it at the mirror. I don't know what compelled him to do that." Hermione puffed angrily. So that's why

"Yeah...I don't know how that could've happened." I said, not meeting Hermione's eyes. I had dared Harry during Charms class, which was right after Potions, to spell himself in the mirror. He did it, and as a result was now just giddy over a talking portrait and pumpkin juice. Had my aunt Muriel been here, she would have pinched my cheeks and asked me what this society was coming to. She was truly a mad old bat.

"Haha, Ron, you and Hermione should marry each other." He found this funny too, and started to laugh harder than I had ever heard him do so. A flush crept up my cheeks and clashed with my hair; Hermione fared worse. She started to fluster, and dropped Harry's arm, and he fell to the ground still laughing.

"Hermione, he was kidding!" I yelped. This was definitely how I could see my whole day of badness ending.

"Ron and Hermione! Sitting in the whomping willow! S-N-O-G-nngghh" A good silencing charm always does the trick. But the damage was done. People were standing around, and whispers were filling the hallway around us. This was like wildfire.

"Honestly Harry, that Merry Jinx..."

"Save it Hermione. It's been done." I said to her reluctantly. "He could have at least sang it in tune...those weren't the right words were they?"

"No. Whomping Willow. Honestly, who is he kidding?" She sent him a resentful look down at the ground.

"Come on, lets take him to the common rooms."

"Alright. I got arms."

"Well that's the easy part."

"Looks like he stopped trying to sing. Finite Incantatum."

"NO!"

"First comes love, thennnnngghh"

"You have to teach me that spell 'Moine." I told her, laughing. We walked up the hallway, trying to ignore the throng of people muttering like old hens who thought they knew something of our relationship.

"It's strictly friendship!" I said, turning my head slightly to yell at the crowd.

"Yea, I'm soooo sure!" A voice yelled back at me, making the crowd of people laugh derisively. I grimaced to Hermione, and then blushed, seeing as she wasn't meeting my eyes and was as red as a beet. Ok, maybe not a beet, but an unripe tomato. No...those would be green...well, she was blushing in any case. After what seemed like an eternity, we got to the Fat Lady's Portrait.

We slung Harry on the ground, and since neither of us, a rarity, seeing that I was talking about Hermione, had both forgotten the password. Harry stopped laughing after Hermione tried out a few spells on him, and he fell asleep, and I was kinda thankful, because no one, after all, wants someone, even if its your best friend, to laugh at you non stop.

I took Hermione's hand in mine, and smiling sadly at her curious expression told her,

"Hermione, strictly friends, alright?" I tried to ignore the look of sadness on her face.

"Alright." She replied softly.

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I think that we stood there for about forever until finally Neville, of all people, came and eyeing Hermione's and my hand together, gave us a knowing smile and muttered the password. Figures, the password was giggles.

Harry was awake, but had hidden his face in shame at his performance earlier. We had given him a little talking-to but he just sighed and admitted defeat. I liked to win. But then he reminded me that I hadn't won anything.

We walked into a virtually empty common room, save for a few fourth years. I slumped in front of the fire and Hermione and Harry said that they were going to retire early. They went upstairs and I was left with my thoughts, and my thoughts alone. That was surprisingly nice, seeing as no one was really ever alone in Hogwarts with too much time to think privately.

Hermione was pretty, I had to admit, but I wasn't attracted to her. She was probably more Harry's type, but even that was questionable. Harry really likes Ginny, even if that's weird to me... I needed to get Hermione with some one, but I wasn't really sure who. But that would come to me later. Now there was going to be a rumor spreading faster than a yawn in Professor Binns Class. And what was up with Malfoy lately? He wasn't acting like the pile of toad spawn that he usually was. He was acting more like, well a bystander than an instigator. And Malfoy was mostly always an instigator. My thoughts swan around in my head, of no real importance at all, and soon I fell asleep, happy and warm in front of the fire.

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A/N: Ok, my muse is getting me where I want to go, albeit a little slowly. Please review! Thanks Rum and Coke for reviewing! Next chapter coming up as soon as I'm done with this evil project, which my history teacher assigned me.