“Hermione, I swear I didn’t mean to!”
Harry Potter sat up quickly in his seat before the fire, listening to his friends voice that was completely audible from outside the Gryffindor common room.
The next second, Hermione Granger burst into the common room, followed closely by Ron Weasley. They both looked livid, but Harry could hardly hold back a laugh, as both of them were wearing pajamas that were on inside out, and Ron was soaking wet.
Harry, along with the other few people in the common room, turned his attention back to the argument when Hermione shoved a piece of parchment under Ron’s nose.
“Look at the schedule!” she shouted, pointing to various places on the paper. “You were supposed to be done at eight o’clock!”
By this time, Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only ones left in the room, everyone else having fled to their dormitories in anticipation of the coming fight.
“Well sorry I don’t wear a watch in the shower!” Ron shouted furiously.
“All the other prefects are mindful of the bathroom schedule!” Hermione yelled back.
“The other prefects check if anyone else is in the bathroom before going completely starkers!”
“How was I supposed to know you were in there! There’s a door separating the shower from the main room!”
“Hello! My clothes were on the floor, right in front of you!”
Hermione turned a dangerous shade of red, and Harry had no idea why Ron didn’t run for cover.
“You are so infuriating!” she yelled, looking like she wanted to throw something at him.
“You’re the one that walked in on me!”
“I wouldn’t have if you’d left on time!”
“Well maybe, if I’m such an idiot, you shouldn’t waste your time talking to me!”
“Fine!“ huffed Hermione after a few moments of painful, almost tangible silence. Then she threw herself into a chair by the window and buried herself in a book.
Ron plopped himself in the chair next to Harry, fuming.
I’m infuriating?! She’s one to talk! Ron thought, glowering in Hermione’s direction, unable to see her properly due to the book in front of her face. She’s so annoying, and completely… right.
As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, Ron knew Hermione was right. This was all his fault. If only he had paid more attention, then everything would be fine, and the girl he cared about most wouldn’t be mad at him…
“Ron?” said Harry cautiously. “I’m going to go to bed. You coming?”
“In a bit.” Ron responded, then watched Harry walk up the stairs to their dormitory.
Cursing himself and his stupidity, Ron pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from the bottom of his school bag. It wasn’t work, it was a list, a list of things that Hermione said, and what they really meant. Ron had been keeping the list since the beginning of that week, when Harry had pointed out how much he and Hermione fought. So this list was to help him from misinterpreting something she said and starting yet another argument.
Ron looked his list over.
Thanks: The woman is thanking me. Do not question. And try not to faint.
Whatever: She really cares, but I’m not supposed to know that.
I’m not hungry: This means something’s wrong. I should probably ask.
I love you: Stop getting excited. Girls say these things to their friends.
Get a life: Muggle expression. Not literal.
Ronald: Most often used when angry or exasperated. If followed by Weasley, I should run.
Go ahead: This is a dare. Not permission. If I want to live, I probably shouldn‘t do it.
Studying: If said when I ask what she’s doing, she wants me to study too. Yet again, I should run.
Homework: See studying.
Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This usually means ‘something’ and to be on my toes.
Pulling out a quill and a bottle of ink, Ron added a new word to the list.
Fine: A word used to end an argument when Hermione is right and I need to shut up.
He thought for a moment, then added one more.
Idiot: Me.
Ron smiled to himself. He knew his list was childish, but he would probably die of embarrassment if anyone read it, because this list revealed how he really felt about Hermione.
But tonight, the list hadn’t been much help.
Someone should write a book. He thought. That would definitely help him with his current situation. How to Make Up with a Girl you Accidentally saw… Ron trailed off his thoughts of potential titles, and actually considered what had just happened…
Hermione walking into the shower room… Wearing nothing but a towel, which she’d dropped in surprise…
And Hermione was-
“Ron?”
Ron nearly jumped out of his skin at the soft voice behind him. He’d thought he was alone in the common room, but there was one person left, one person who was standing directly behind him…
Hermione.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione sat in her chair, curled up, staring hard at the book in front of her, but not really paying attention.
…The Patronus Charm can be used to repel dementors…
Harry was going up to bed…
…and takes the form of an animal that the witch or wizard relates with protection…
Ron had taken something out of his bag…
…to create a Patronus, one must…
The scratching of Ron’s quill was nearly driving her insane.
Cautiously, Hermione peeked over the top of her book, and saw Ron, apparently in deep concentration, staring at the parchment in his hand.
And for some reason, Hermione felt like she had to know what it was. It couldn’t be school work, it was Friday night and they had all weekend to do it… And Ron was definitely a procrastinator. It could be a letter, but who would Ron be writing to?
Hermione couldn’t stand it any longer. Slowly, she put down her book, sliding out of her shoes, then stood and crept towards Ron’s chair in her socks.
Making as little noise as possible, she edged towards him, stopping about an inch behind his chair, moving her head so she could read over his shoulder.
It was a list. A list titled with her name, and followed by words with a definition of what it meant when she said it.
Hermione stared at the paper, thinking so fast it almost hurt, her anger with Ron momentarily forgotten. And for once in her life, know-it-all Hermione did not know it all. Her analytical brain was telling her a million different things this could mean, but she still couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Her eyes fell on number four.
I love you: Stop getting excited. Girls say these things to their friends.
She felt like her heart stopped. I love you. She had said those words to Ron yesterday, and she’d really meant them, he just didn’t know how much. Stop getting excited. Did this mean he wanted to be more than friends? Hermione had wanted that since she was thirteen.
Standing here wasn’t going to do much good, Hermione decided. She needed to say something.
“Ron?” she asked softly, wincing when he jumped about a mile. Ron turned in his seat, his blue eyes widening when he saw it was her. He froze, but his gaze followed her as she sat gingerly on the armrest of his chair.
“Great list.” she whispered. “Pretty accurate. But I disagree with a few things.”
“Really?” he whispered back, and she noticed that his ears had turned that embarrassed Weasley red that she found so endearing.
“Really.” she said, pointing to the bottom of the list. “You’re not always an idiot.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Anything else?”
“Number four.” she said, pointing, and she could feel herself blushing.
“What about it?” his voice had dropped even lower, and he was incredibly close to her, she could feel his breath on her neck.
“Girls normally don’t say that to guy friends. Unless they really mean it.”
“Hmmm.” he mused, finally turning to face her. “I’ll have to add that to the list.”
“I guess you will.” she whispered. His face was and inch from hers… “Goodnight, Ron.”
And with that, she gently kissed his cheek, then got up, grabbing her bag and heading to her dormitory. Before walking up the stairs, she paused in the stairwell, out of sight, and smiled when she looked back at Ron, who seemed stunned.
And when Ron Weasley thought no one was watching, he touched his face where she had kissed him, then smiled the widest smile Hermione had ever seen.
