A/N: A thousand apologies for the delay in this chapter. Unusually for me, I rewrote this three times, and I'm still not entirely happy with the way it ended up. I promise that the next chapter won't be long in coming-it's nearly all written and I am pleased as punch about it.

Ron just proved a bit hard to write in this moment! For the record, I do not think Ron is unintelligent or not observant. But he is still a teenager, and life is complicated at the best of times. He gets there in the end!

This chapter does establish where Ron is post break-up, as well as what he's aiming for in the next few weeks.

Thank you for all the kind reviews, and for taking the time to read. It does mean quite a bit to me.

As always, I own none of this, I am not JKR, but am always grateful for the opportunity to play.

The steam rose in sensuous spirals, bubbles creating a layer of fluffy clouds hiding the water beneath. He could hear his splashing echoing throughout the chamber, the mermaid in the painting smiling from her rock.

Searching, he swam through the warm waters.

Dark hair crested a few meters from him. Hermione's tendrils plastered her face, making her usual puff of curls trail down her back like an oil slick. It amazed him how much longer her hair was when it was wet, nearly to her waist. He'd been certainly grateful he was already underwater the first time she dove in to the pond at the Burrow and he beheld the sight.

'Told you,' she muttered over her shoulder, a smirk playing on her lips as water dripped down her chest. 'I can easily hold my breath for over a minute.'

'It's different when that's all your focusing on,' he retorted, trying to remind himself to breathe. 'You can't hold your breath that long while distracted.'

'Says you.'

'Well yeah,' he said, scoffing at her. He resisted the urge to cross his arms over his chest.

'Want me to prove it?' she asked, swimming closer to him. Bubbles clung to her curls, making her look oddly like the painting above the bath.

'How exactly are you going to prove that?'

He could feel the heat of her body as she sidled up beside him. Small droplets clung to her eyelashes, which made it hard for him to breathe.

'Watch me,' she whispered. Before he could react, she'd taken a big gulp of air and disappeared beneath the water.

A second later, he felt her mouth somewhere he wasn't expecting.

'Holy sh-'

SLAM!

With a start, Ron lifted his head from the table. He felt utterly discombobulated

'Did you get it?' Hermione asked, barely looking up from her Arithmancy chart.

'That damn fly has been bothering me for ages,' Harry replied, scraping off the remains from his Charms book.

Ron crossed his legs uncomfortably.

'Nice to have you join us,' Hermione smirked at him, in a not dissimilar way to what she'd just done in his dream. He crossed his legs tighter.

'S'not my fault,' he grumbled. 'My captain has been working me way too hard.'That, and fears of the upcoming cup had been keeping him up at night.

Harry rolled his eyes as he opened his book again.

'That, or you shouldn't have eaten so many biscuits with lunch.' Hermione's prim tone matched her elegant handwriting.

Ron bit back his snippy response. Being free from Lavender meant that he was technically more available to pursue Hermione. However, he figured Hermione might not take him immediately coming on to her very well. Lavender had accused him of cheating after all, and he'd rather not add more fuel to that particular fire. His ex-girlfriend continued to send him beady-eyed glares anytime he dared look in her direction. Not to mention Hermione suddenly seemed a bit more distant than she had before the split. She was noble enough to try and protect Lavender's feelings, Ron assumed. This explanation didn't quite cover her shorter attitude, nor the way she would smile each time she pulled out her Syllabary, but Ron figured she must be doing something particularly exciting in Ancient Runes at the moment. He knew that she was more stressed about Horcruxes than she was letting on, but so far she had not confided in him.

Much as he wanted to change that.

Still, every time he tried to ingratiate himself to her, he ended up putting his foot in his mouth. Mentioning she had no female friends, pointing out her earrings yesterday-he wanted her to know that he noticed that she'd put on some silver, dangling little things, but on further reflection "Didn't know you had your ears pierced" had only served to make her self-conscious- and trying to let her win at chess, but her noticing what he was doing had not helped his case.

Nor did it help matters that she continued to pop into his dreams in ways that made him hope that she wasn't trying to study occlumency. It was bad enough he'd just fallen asleep in the common room to that dream with her sitting just a bloody foot away from him.

The situation would have been better if he was able to sleep properly. With the match coming up, his self-esteem had taken a nose dive. He kept ruminating on various scenarios of the final game. Harry catching the snitch just as Ron fumbled a save, leaving Gryffindor to lose by 10 points. Falling headlong into the pitch after reaching for the Quaffle, only to wake up in the Hospital wing to discover nobody had bothered to stop the match. Not managing to save a single goal and looking out into the stands to see Hermione's disappointed face.

It rankled him that she'd never witnessed him triumph at Quidditch. Off to see Grawp during last years final, and convinced he was cheating during the first match this year. He had so few opportunities to prove himself. Just once he'd like to triumph in front of her. He was a bloody Gryffindor, was he not? Even in their near-death misses, Ron had always managed to incapacitate himself. If he hadn't been stupid enough to touch the brains….

His fingers traced the whirling scars on his arm of their own accord. Hermione's quill stopped scratching for a moment, and he looked up to see her watching him closely.

'Everything alright?' she asked.

'Fine,' Ron replied, pulling the sleeves of his jumper down and feeling his ears turn red. 'Just thinking about the match.'

She pursed her lips. Harry looked up.

'We're going to be great!' Harry's enthusiasm was welcome. If only it were contagious.

With a sigh, he looked back down to his own Charms notes, trying to decipher where he'd last left off. Harry was busy pouring over somatic components to a brightening charm, which Ron definitely did not remember from class. It was moments like this that he wished Hermione would stick to the same assignment as they were, so that he could ask for her help without feeling like a bumbling idiot.

Her quill scratched against her chart, curls bobbing as she checked between her book and her complicated table. Somehow it never ceased to amaze him how focused she could be. Whatever she did, she gave it her all. He smiled at the thought and returned to his book.

He wrote out a fairly paltry conclusion before noticing McLaggen staring at him from across the room. The burly git was surrounded by a group of fellow seventh years, all of whom were smirking at Ron. He gulped. Merlin only knew the lengths McLaggen would go to get back on the team.

Although maybe it was for the best. McLaggen might be an arrogant arsehole, but you couldn't fault him for his ego. Ron bet McLaggen never had to dash off to the loos from anxiety before a match.

His shoulders slumped at the thought.

Hermione made a hum. Ron looked up, only to see her watching him once more. There was concern in her eyes, and her lips were parted as though she wanted to say something.

'What?' he asked quietly. She stared at him for another moment.

'Nothing,' she replied, going back to her chart. 'Leave me your Charms essay and I'll edit it while you're gone.'

'Really?' he asked, brightening. 'That would be brilliant!' Harry looked up eagerly from his own and hesitantly smiled at Hermione. She rolled her eyes.

'Yes, leave yours too, Harry. Although I expect something for how much work I'm doing for the Quidditch team. Between the pair of you and Ginny, I'm-'

'-Academic Advisor?' Harry offered.

'Lifesaver?' Ron countered.

She smiled at them, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. 'You'd best win, then.'

Harry grinned. 'Oh don't worry, we will.'

They worked for another hour. Ron and Harry prepared to head down to the pitch, while Hermione rolled up her parchment and packed up her bag.

'Where are you going?' Ron asked her in surprise.

'Library,' she replied.

'Why don't you just study in here? You're all set up and-'

'Do you want me to edit your essay or not?' Hermione blustered. He noticed a slight red tinge to her cheeks that took him by surprise. Rather than comment, he nodded mutely and handed her his paper.

She swept out through the portrait hole, and he watched her go.

'Do you think she's up to something?' he asked Harry.

'Who? Hermione? She's going to the library. That's what she does.' Harry gave him a quizzical look. 'Anyway, doesn't matter. Let's head down to the pitch.'

Ron couldn't ignore the searing eyes of McLaggen as they headed out of the portrait hole. Between him and feeling distracted by Hermione's strange behaviour, it was no wonder he wasn't on perfect form.

…

Hermione wasn't at dinner. Harry and Ron were eating a bit later than usual, Harry having let Ginny throw some more practice shots at Ron after dismissing the rest of the team. Ginny had sauntered off to join friends once they entered the Great Hall, but so far there was no familiar curls to bring him some comfort. The Ravenclaw team were sitting at their table though, all muttering together. They were lead by Kevin Liu, who Ron knew was current President of the Wizard's Chess club. Liu was known for being serious about strategy. Playing from all angles. Preparing for any situation. Harry was more of a fly by the seat of your pants captain. Faith in the team and all that. At the moment, Ron really wished he had a strategy for dealing with his nerves.

She wasn't in the Common Room either, he noted glumly once they arrived. Ron knew she was likely in the library, but was not comforted by this fact. He didn't even have time to go look for her, as he had rounds to do this evening. What a waste of bloody time the rounds were. If he wasn't with Hermione, he didn't see the point.

He wasn't holding out much hope that he would be Head Boy next year.

It made him think back to the Mirror of Erised. Back before a war, before things got messy and complicated. When what he really wanted was to be the best of all his brothers. Incredible enough that nobody would forget him again. As it turned out, Harry made Quidditch captain, and Ron was probably one of the worst prefects to ever pass through Hogwarts. Even he didn't know why Dumbledore picked him. But he was grateful for it.

Hermione hadn't returned before he left for Rounds with Padma but was there when he came back a few hours later. He found the Common Room practically empty. She was sitting on the couch near the fire. Crookshanks was on her lap, enjoying the languid stroking of his fur as his owner read from a large tome balanced on the arm. Grateful, Ron made his way over to her.

'Hey,' he breathed.

She looked up in surprise. Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were red.

'Hi. How was the rest of your day?'There was a hint of exhaustion in her tone, but she sounded pleased to see him.

'Tiring.' Ron slumped down beside her. Not so close that they were touching, but practically. Crookshanks turned his squashed face to fix his yellow eyes on Ron. It looked like a warning. 'Where have you been?'

'Library mostly,' she answered, marking her page and turning to face him.

'You weren't at dinner.'

'Lost track of time.' She reached down for her bag next to her, being careful not to squish the cat. Opening the flap, he was surprised to see her pull out half a sandwich, wrapped in thick butcher paper. 'But I made sure to eat.'

He smiled at her, glad that for once she was thinking of herself. She held the sandwich out for him. 'Here.'

He frowned at her. 'Did you only eat half? That's not enough for dinner.'

'I had plenty,' she scoffed, holding the half out further. 'Besides, you need to eat more for your strength. Quidditch isn't worth losing your appetite over.'

Ron accepted the sandwich and tore into it.

'To some people it is,' he said through muffled bites.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she scratched Crookshanks behind the ears.

'I'll be glad when the match is over and you can calm down.' He barely heard her over the sound of the crackling flames.

'Calm down?' He asked, swallowing a rather large bite of ham.

'You always get so high strung before games. They don't matter in the long run. Hardly worth losing sleep over.'

'Unlike creating a 4 month schedule to study for finals?' His tone was cheeky as he took another bite. Her blush deepened.

'That's entirely different,' she mumbled.

'To you,' Ron replied. 'Luckily, I've just learned to adapt to exam Hermione.' She shook her head at him, before looking at the fireplace. He could see the reflection of the flames in her eyes.

'Thank you for that.'

'For what? Adapting?' Ron swallowed the last of the sandwich and wiped the crumbs off his robes.

'For taking me exactly as I am,' she answered, her tone soft. It looked as though her eyes had turned glassy.

The mood had shifted. Ron was incredibly aware of his heartbeat. Wood cracked. Embers smoldered. A light whistle came from a window left ajar.

'I wouldn't change a single thing about you.' His heart was in his throat. What a moment for some of that Gryffindor bravery to kick in.

She turned her head, her neck flushed. Lips curved in a tiny smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Curls had sprung forward, tickling past her eyebrows. With a hesitant hand, Ron reached out to brush them away. Hermione's smile grew as his hand drew near. She shut her eyes and leaned forward towards him. Ron could tell his fingers were trembling…

With an almighty yowl, Crookshanks suddenly sprang off of Hermione's lap, causing her to gasp in pain.

'What the-'

Hermione was lifting the front of her robe. She hissed. 'He scratched me!'

Ron was more focused on the pale ribbon of thigh than on the droplets of blood now rapidly collecting.

'I need to go take care of this,' she muttered, closing her robe and picking up her bag. 'See you in the morning, Ron.' Gingerly, she stood up.

Without a glance back, she hurried up the stairs towards her dorm. Crookshanks prowled next to the fire. Unless Ron was very much mistaken, it looked like he was smirking. Cursing the stupid furball, Ron made his own way up to bed. Hopefully he would sleep a little better tonight.

…

The next afternoon, Hermione returned from Ancient Runes with a frown on her face. Harry and Ron had just spent the last free period discussing the upcoming match. This had done nothing to help his confidence. She slid into the chair beside them with a sigh.

'Rough class?' Harry asked her, slightly bemused.

'Oh no, Babbling was wonderful,' Hermione replied, folding her hands onto her lap. 'I'm just worried about Arithmancy. I think I made a dreadful mistake in my last essay.'

Ron and Harry exchanged an amused glance.

'Dreadful as in, "I forgot a period" dreadful, or you actually think you're going to get a D on the essay?' Ron asked her, holding back a bit of a laugh.

She looked at him in a bit of panic. 'I…I don't know! I thought that I was using the correct calculation method, but after talking about it with….oh maybe I am going to get a D!' Hermione threw her face into her hands.

'I'm sure you won't,' Harry tried to tell her.

'What do you know?' Hermione moaned through her fingers. 'You don't know anything about Arithmancy.'

'But we know you're brilliant,' Ron added, taking the opportunity to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder. He tried not to feel too grateful at the opportunity to hold some part of her. 'You've never gotten a D in your life and I don't think you're about to start now.'

Hermione shook her head. 'No. I'm going to go and talk to Professor Vector. I could have sworn that we were using the Northern Hemispheric calculations, but if we were going for the year of his birth in terms of the Julien calendar, then…' She trailed off and stood up abruptly. 'I'll see you later.'

Holding back tears, she grabbed her bag and marched out of the common room. Harry and Ron shared a bewildered glance.

'Ah, Potter,' came McLaggen's swaggering voice. 'Came to see if you're having any last minute thoughts about the Keeper situation.' The prat's smug face took in Ron's. 'I've heard there's been quite a lot of quaffle dropping the past few practices.'

'Nobody's been dropping anything,' Harry said in a bored tone.

'So you didn't drop the quaffle ten times yesterday?' McLaggen asked Ron.

'Listen here, you little-' Ron started.

'McLaggen, bugger off,' Harry told him. 'Ron's keeper, end of story.'

With a slight smirk, McLaggen sauntered off. Ron felt just about ready to vomit again.

'Don't listen to him,' Harry started, but it was too late. Visions of failing and being the laughing stock of the school came into his mind's eye.

'I'll see you,' Ron managed through the bile before heading up towards their dorms for privacy.

By the time he'd finished, Harry was nowhere to be found. Ron checked his watch. It was dinner time, but for once he had no desire to eat. Instead he decided to take advantage of an empty dorm room while it lasted. The image of Hermione's firelight flecked thigh was still in his minds' eye. With any luck, Hermione wouldn't take too long with Professor Vector and they could head down together to meet Harry.

But all warm feelings dissipated quickly afterwards. Harry hurtled into the room, soaking wet and coated in blood. Ron gave him his potions book and watched him run out of the room. He tried following him, but Harry had already run through the Portrait hole before Ron entered the Common Room. People were chuckling to themselves, no doubt assuming that Harry had gotten into another sticky situation.

He was still gaping at where Harry had disappeared, bewildered, when familiar ginger hair came through the portrait hole. Ginny noticed him standing stock still in the middle of the room, and laughed as she walked up to him.

'Cat got your tongue?

Ron looked down at her. The joviality wiped clean from her face.

'What's going on?'

'I don't know,' Ron answered honestly. 'Harry-'

'Something's wrong with Harry?' Ginny asked, her tone becoming breathless. This didn't much surprise Ron. With the curse on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, it was only a matter of time before one of them got taken out before the final match. Ron considered the words he wanted to use, not wanting to scare his sister unnecessarily.

'He was…wet? And he needed my potions book.'

Ginny frowned. 'This has something to do with the Prince?'

Ron nodded, still feeling unsure.

'But Harry was moving?'

'Yeah, he was just bloody.'

'Bloody?' Ginny hissed, her eyes widening. 'Where was he bleeding from? Why didn't you take him to the Hospital Wing?'

'It all happened so fast! I'm not even sure it was his blood!'

'That's it.' Ginny yanked his arm. 'We're getting to the bottom of this.'

For how tiny she was, her grip was painful. Ron found himself being led out of the portrait hole, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

'Where are we going?' Ron asked, as Ginny led the way down the stairs. She was pulling him not towards to Hospital Wing as he assumed she would, but in the opposite direction.

'To the library.'

'Library?' Ron repeated, in disbelief. If he didn't know any better, it was like his sister had switched brains with Hermione. 'I don't think that's where Harry was go-'

'We're not going to Harry you dolt-we're going to find Hermione. I'm sure she knows what's going on.'

Momentary relief flooded Ron's extremities. Yes. Hermione would be able to figure out what was the matter. Hermione always had the answers.

Ron stood his ground for a moment, using his extra height to his advantage. Ginny skidded into place.

'Hermione went to see Professor Vector. She's on the fifth floor.' There was a moment of pride as he took in the fact that he knew Hermione's whereabouts.

'Great, let's go.' Ginny yanked him yet again, back towards the staircases.

The corridors were empty as they marched their way towards the Professor's lounge. Most students were heading down to dinner. Ron's own stomach had started to murmur with the first pangs of hunger. He determinedly kept his eyes on the hallway in front of them, hoping to spot a mass of bushy hair somewhere along the way.

'Ron! Ginny!'

Turning at the sound of their names, the Weasleys spotted Hermione running towards them. Panic was etched into her face and curls flew behind her as she sped towards them.

'I can't believe it!' Hermione cried as she reached them. She skidded to a halt in front of the pair, and looked directly at Ron.

'You know what's going on with Harry?' Ginny's tone was disbelieving. As though they hadn't just been looking for Hermione to try and figure out what was going on.

Hermione nodded, seeming close to tears. She kept her eyes trained on Ron's face, causing him to feel a little hot around the collar. 'Myrtle was screeching about it in the loos. She says Harry tried to murder Malfoy!'

'What?!' Ginny gaped at. Ron frowned at Hermione. Myrtle was always moaning about something. Didn't necessarily make it true.

'You're going to trust Myrtle with this?' he asked, pulling his arm free from Ginny and crossing both in front of his chest.

'You're the one who said he was wet and covered in blood!' Ginny rounded on Ron.

'You saw him?' Hermione gripped his arm in fear. Unlike Ginny's vice grip, Ron noticed there was a tenderness to Hermione's fingers. The feeling made him feel momentarily giddy. Strange in a moment of fear.

'He…he asked for my Potions Book.'

The fingers retracted immediately.

Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously. It was hard for her to hide her intense dislike of the Prince's marginalia. 'I warned him not to use any more of those spells! Goodness only knows what he tried to do to Malfoy!'

Ron swallowed. The Prince had ended up saving his life, so it wasn't like he didn't owe the bloke one. On the other hand, all he wanted to do was be in Hermione's good graces.

Ginny looked between the two of them. 'Alright. We need a game plan. Whatever he did, he mustn't have meant to do it. Malfoy's a git, but Harry would never deliberately hurt someone.'

'That doesn't matter,' Hermione snapped, whipping her hair around to Ginny. 'If I accidentally killed you, the fact remains that you would no longer be alive, not whether I meant to kill you!'

'Yes it does! It's the difference between Manslaughter and Murder!' Ginny retorted. Ron saw the telltale signs of her cheeks growing red. The last thing he needed was for Ginny and Hermione to start fighting.

'In the eyes of the law, certainly, but the-'

'Did Myrtle say who found Malfoy?' Ron cut in, hoping to avoid a row between them. Hermione's furious eyes turned to him.

'No, she didn't.' Her lips pressed into a thin line.

'Okay,' Ron started. 'Then why don't we go get some dinner, and-'

'Harry tried to off Malfoy, and you're concerned about mashed potatoes?' Ginny cut in with a humourless laugh.

'I don't think Harry wants to show his face around the slytherins at the moment,' Ron countered. 'We can bring up some food to the common room for him.'

'Yes…'Hermione said slowly. 'That's a good idea. Keep him away from as many prying eyes as possible.'

Ron's heart thumped in his chest. He didn't think he'd ever get used to Hermione thinking any idea of his had merit.

'Fine. Then let's grab food and head back to the Common Room.' Ginny tossed back her long hair and began marching towards the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a brief moment before following her.

'Don't be too hard on him,' Ron muttered as they made their way down a staircase. 'Harry probably didn't know what he was doing and-'

'What if Zabini had used it on me?' Hermione countered. Ice flooded into Ron's core. Her eyes were blazing now. 'You don't use spells you don't understand! It doesn't matter who it's used on!'

Ron shut his mouth. The idea of anybody turning up, covered in Hermione's blood made him feel sick. No matter if he agreed with the Prince, he also agreed with Hermione.

No matter what, he had to try to keep the peace between his best mates.

A/N 2.0- Get ready for Quidditch shenanigans for the next couple of chapters! And get ready for some doozies coming up!

Lots of love,

Ashy