A/N: Still loving the outpouring of support - the Romione community is the best! Please keep sharing your thoughts with me after you read, and a favorite/follow wouldn't hurt either ;)

As always, a big thank you to adenei for serving as quality control at the highest level!

Exam stress is a real thing, and it's only made worse when you want to impress the tutor who helped you prepare. Let's see how Ron is doing as he gets closer to the third exam of the semester…

Chapter 7: "Or maybe you just want to impress a certain someone."

"Guys, could you try to keep it down just a little bit?" Ron cried, adjusting the light emanating from his cell phone so that he could see his notes more clearly. "I have an exam tomorrow!"

"Dude, fuck your exam! We won, that's what matters!" Seamus called as the rest of the team roared.

It was just past ten o'clock the night before the third Biology exam, and Ron and the rest of the Ultimate Frisbee club team were traveling back home after soundly defeating their rival to the south. He, Harry, and Seamus had all played exceptionally well, and the team looked unbeatable. The bus that the university had chartered was spacious and comfortable, and their teammates were hanging over the backs of the seats talking, laughing, and drinking soda that was definitely not just soda. Everyone was in a celebratory mood, and while Ron was enjoying the festive atmosphere, it didn't change the fact that he still had an important test the next evening, and he really wanted to do well.

"I know we won, and I'm pumped, man, but seriously," Ron implored his friend. "I really want to get some more studying done. Hermione helped me organize all of these notes into one study packet, so I have no excuse not to be prepared this time."

"What's so important about this test, anyway?" Seamus asked as his drink spilled onto Ron's shoulder. "You crushed the last one, so I'm sure you're looking good now."

Ron brushed the liquid from his jacket and tried to tamp down his annoyance. "Yeah, I know, but I need to keep it up. I don't want to lose my spot on the team."

"Or maybe you just want to impress a certain someone."

Across the aisle, Ron caught Harry shooting Seamus a warning look, wordlessly advising him to drop the subject. But Seamus pressed on, seemingly intent on needling Ron.

"Seriously, man, the way you keep mentioning this girl, like, totally unprompted…it's more than a little suspicious."

Ron sighed. He was getting tired of defending himself. No matter what he did, Seamus had been running his mouth for the last couple of weeks any time he mentioned biology, studying, or his tutor. It wasn't like he was talking about her that much. At least, he didn't think he was. "You're making shit up again, Seamus. I barely say anything about her. You're just hearing what you want to hear."

"What?! You've brought her up like a dozen times since we left campus! I feel like I've known her my whole life the way you talk about her. And I've never even met her before!"

"Just fuck off and let me work, man."

"Ooh, sore subject, eh Weasley?" Seamus was a pro at getting under his skin, and he was in rare form at the moment.

"No, I'm just getting sick of you making these insinuations," Ron said, slamming his notes shut and glaring up at his roommate. "Yeah, I'm really grateful for her help. Without her, I probably wouldn't be on this bus right now. But she's my tutor, not my goddamn girlfriend."

"Seamus, just chill," Harry said, finally piping up and trying to help the situation. "If Ron says he's not interested, then he's not interested."

"Thank you," Ron exclaimed, reopening his packet of notes. "Finally, a voice of fucking reason."

Seamus clicked his tongue and slid past Ron, indicating to Harry that he'd like to switch places. "Alright, alright, if you say so. I'll be over here enjoying the party while you…I don't know, learn about cells or something."

Shaking his head in frustration, Ron tried his best to refocus his eyes on the page in front of him as Harry sat down on his right. Ever the peacemaker in their trio, Harry continued in his attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Sorry, you know how Seamus can be…"

"An annoying asshole?" Ron offered, looking back at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Giving people shit is just the way he interacts. Always has, always will, you know that. It never bothered you before."

"Right, I guess," Ron replied with a shrug.

Harry shifted in his seat, opening and closing his mouth several times before speaking again. "That doesn't mean he's…wrong, though."

Seriously?

"Wait, what?" Ron asked. "What do you mean?"

"Look…don't take this the wrong way, I'm really glad you went through with the tutoring and everything. But you do talk about it a lot. You talk about her a lot."

It was lucky that Harry had been his best friend for long enough to be totally honest with him, but sometimes Ron wished he'd just keep some things to himself. Ron didn't like it when Harry was that observant.

"Do I really?"

"I know Hermione's major, hometown, life goals, full class schedule, history of poor hydration, and favorite snacks just off the top of my head, Ron. How many of my professors' or classmates' favorite snacks do you know?"

Ron dropped his pencil into his notebook and turned and stared out the window. Was it really that bad? Did he really mention her that much? He'd finally admitted to himself that he might be developing feelings for Hermione, but until recently, he thought he'd been doing a reasonable job of keeping his thoughts inside his own head. Apparently not.

"I mean, the snack thing was just kind of noticeable and weird. And the major…I don't know, it seemed applicable because of the class subject, right?"

His best friend didn't need to say anything; the look on his face said it all. It hadn't taken Harry long to figure things out. They'd been friends for over a decade, after all.

"Yeah, yeah." Ron's shoulders dropped in defeat. "Maybe you're right."

"It's fine, man. I don't care, and you know I won't make fun of you about it. But, like, if you asked me? I don't know, I think you're kind of into this girl."

Damn, he's good.

"I'm not into her. She's really helpful, but she's kind of a nerd, you know? She's all work and no play. Doesn't really seem like she'd be any fun. Just not my type at all."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted them. Of course he didn't think that about her. She was…well, he wasn't quite sure what she was, but she was a lot more than just some nerd.

"If you say so, buddy."

"I do."

Harry stood up and patted his friend on the back. "I'll let you study, okay?"

"Thanks, man. I'm sorry I'm so…I don't know, scattered or whatever."

"You're fine, don't worry about it. We all get stressed for exams."

"Right…yeah. Exams."

Harry chuckled and nodded before moving to the back of the bus, leaving Ron alone in his row. For the remainder of the trip, he did his best to concentrate on his studying, trying to cram as much information into his mind as he could. Once they arrived back home, he stayed up an extra hour just to get a little more work done. He wanted to make sure he wasn't leaving anything to chance, but by the time he was done, he was falling asleep on top of his textbook.

Fortunately, Ron only had two classes to attend the next day, meaning he was done by lunch and free to get back to studying. He hunkered down in an empty classroom in the Romance Languages building and pored over his notes for the rest of the afternoon. As he worked, he couldn't help but realize how different his habits were becoming since the beginning of the year. Friday afternoons were never productive for him before; he used to go home after class and watch movies or play video games. Anything but studying.

But this exam was important to him. For some reason, it was critical to him that he did well. He couldn't remember the last time he'd put this much effort into a class, but now that he had, he didn't want it to be in vain. Besides, Hermione had dedicated time and effort as well; he couldn't disappoint her.

At ten minutes to six, Ron was stepping into the main science building, feeling more confident than he had for any exam in recent memory. When he arrived at the lecture hall where it would be administered, the first thing he did was look around to see if he could find Hermione. She was nowhere to be found, though, so he simply took a seat, tucking his backpack under his chair.

Must be running late or something. Weird, that's not like her.

The next ten minutes came and went, though, and still no sign of his tutor. The professor and other TAs began passing out the exams, prompting Ron to take one more glance around the room, expecting to see her somewhere.

She did say she would be here, right? I remember her saying that.

But a few minutes later, the only people that had come through the door were a few late stragglers who quickly found a seat.

"Alright, everyone," Professor Sprout called. "The best of luck to all of you. You have seventy-five minutes, and that time starts now."

Trying to push his disappointment from his mind and refocus on the task at hand, Ron flipped over his test booklet and scanned the questions. A smile spread across his face as he immediately recognized everything.

A dividing cell was staring back at him, reminding him of his tutoring session on mitosis four weeks ago. Hermione had been wearing a pink and red striped sweater with her darker blue jeans because Valentine's Day had just passed, and her nostrils flared out when he teased her about whether she had a valentine. The Punnett square on the second page brought back memories of their meeting two weeks ago, the time when she'd worn her hair up for a change. He couldn't take his eyes off of the graceful column of her neck every time she turned around to write something on the whiteboard. The diagram of cellular respiration on the third page conjured up vivid recollections of the light, flowery blouse she'd worn just a few days ago when they reviewed everything before the exam. It seemed like she was doing her best to force spring to arrive sooner through sheer positive thinking.

As he continued through the exam, every question reminded him of her and the time they'd spent studying together. And as a result, it was the easiest exam he'd ever taken. Unless he'd made some incredibly dumb error, he was certain that he'd aced it. Only two other people had turned in their exams before him, and as he dropped it on the desk, Professor Sprout gave him a warm smile.

The walk back to his apartment should've been a time for celebration and self-back-patting, but he couldn't stop wondering about Hermione. Why wasn't she there? It wasn't like her to miss something that important. She must've had a good reason to be absent, but in the back of his mind, he worried that it had something to do with her episodes of passing out.

Harry greeted him as soon as he walked in the door, shoving a pizza box in Ron's direction. "Hey, how'd it go?"

"Great, I think. Everything made sense, so hopefully that's a good sign," Ron replied as he picked up a slice. "We'll see, I'm supposed to hear back tonight."

"Tonight? What professor grades an exam that quickly?"

"No, not from the professor. Hermione said she'd grade mine tonight and let me know. Although, she wasn't at the test, and she said she would be."

His best friend sat up a bit straighter, and Ron didn't miss it when Harry had to suppress a small smile. "Well, she strikes me as the kind of person who follows through when they say they're going to do something. I'm sure you'll hear soon."

"Yeah, I bet," Ron agreed, eyeing his roommate with suspicion.

"Anyway, what are you up to for the rest of the night? Seamus and I were going to meet up with some of the guys at Jack Sloper's house in a little bit. Wanna come?"

It sounded like the perfect way to unwind after the exam, and Ron nodded as he stuffed the last piece of crust into his mouth. "Sure, that sounds great. Hopefully, that'll help keep my mind off of my grade."

"I'm sure you did great, man, don't worry about it. Besides, one way or the other, it's over; nothing more you can do about it now."

"I know. It's just…"

Ron stopped himself. Should he really tell Harry about his concerns over Hermione's absence? His roommates were already noticing that he kept talking about her all the time. Did he really need to provide them with any more ammunition than they already had?

Harry was staring back at him with a wrinkled brow. "Just what?"

"Nothing, never mind. Tell you what, give me like fifteen minutes to shower and change and I'll be ready to go, okay?"

"Sounds great."

Twenty minutes later, they headed out into the night. The party was raging by the time they got to Jack's. Ron poured himself a beer from the keg and tried to engage in conversation with his teammates. No matter how hard he tried to stop himself, though, he couldn't help pulling out his phone every ten minutes or so to check and see if had a message from Hermione. He could barely concentrate through multiple games of beer pong and the Street Fighter tournament on Jack's arcade machine.

They'd only been at the party for a couple hours when he found Harry and Seamus and let them know he was going to head home.

"Boo!" Seamus yelled, stumbling as he tried to step toward Ron. "Fucking lame, dude! Iss only…wha' time issit?"

"You okay, man?" Harry asked Ron, still generally in control of his faculties.

Ron nodded and pulled on his jacket. "Yeah, just tired, I guess. It's been a long day."

"Alright, no problem. We probably won't stay too much longer. I need Seamus to be able to walk back home himself. I'm not carrying him again."

"WHAT?" Seamus yelled, even though he was only a foot away from them.

"Nothing, Seamus," Harry replied with a chuckle.

Ron stepped toward the door and gave his roommates a wave. "Okay, well, I'll see you guys later."

"Yup, have a good night."

As he walked out of the house and started down the street toward home, he pulled out his phone again. It was five minutes after eleven o'clock, and he had yet to receive a single message all night. One time when they were studying, Hermione had said she always tried to be asleep by eleven to make sure she got her full eight hours per night.

So much for getting my exam grade back tonight.

He knew, though, that his performance on the test was the least of his concerns. More than anything, he just wanted to know that she was alright, that she hadn't passed out again and hit her head or something. He didn't want to bother her if she was sleeping, but he resolved to text her in the morning if she hadn't said anything yet.

When he got home, he didn't even change clothes before collapsing onto his mattress. He simply plugged in his phone to make sure it didn't die overnight and tried his best to fall asleep.

As soon as Ron woke up the next morning, he reached for his phone. The text icon was illuminated, and his fingers fumbled to enter the password as he unlocked his phone to check the message. Much to his disappointment, though, it was nothing but a series of incoherent drunk texts from Seamus, each making less sense than the one before. The general theme seemed to be making fun of him for leaving early, but it was difficult to tell for sure.

The clock read nine-thirty, definitely late enough to send a message to Hermione. He'd held off texting her the previous night, but it was unlike her not to follow through on a promise, especially when he had just seen her a few days prior. He didn't want to accuse her of anything or make her feel guilty for not following through with his exam grade, so he made sure to phrase his request carefully. Pulling up her information, he started a new text chain.

Hey, sry 2 bother u. Just wanted to make sure ur ok. Ddn't hear back from u yest and was wonderin where u were. No rush on th exam, I felt good abt it, but pls let me know if u have grades.

After he hit send, he tossed his phone on the bed and tried to find a diversion. A quick shower helped to clear his head a bit, but he still couldn't stop checking for messages as soon as he got out. Harry woke up and played a game of FIFA with him as they both feasted on a breakfast of Toaster Strudel, but by the time they'd finished, he still hadn't heard anything back.

It was almost eleven when his phone dinged in his pocket, and he put down his physics book and reached into his pocket. He released a long exhale and smiled to himself as he saw that the message was from Hermione.

Hi Ron, I'm sorry I'm just getting back to you now. I was hoping to grade your exam last night, but unfortunately, it simply wasn't possible. I apologize for the delay, and I'll do my best to get you your grade as soon as I can. I'm glad you felt it went well, though! I'll be in touch soon, and we're still on for this upcoming Wednesday. Apologies again!

As Ron turned his phone off, his brow wrinkled with confusion. Even though he was glad to hear from her, the text seemed extremely vague and only served to increase his anxiety that something wasn't right with her. He wanted to message her back and ask her to clarify, but they weren't that close. Besides, if something actually was wrong, the last thing he wanted to do was to continue to pester her. Instead, all he could do was wait and hope that his gut was wrong.