The Gryffindor common room was empty except for three students: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. They were studying for their exams, especially Hermione, whose bloodshot eyes were darting from page to page.

Harry was already half-asleep; his eyes were closed but he was still turning the pages of his book.

As for Ron, he was too busy tapping his quill against the table. It echoed noisily throughout the common room, but no one seemed to notice…except for Hermione.

After about an hour of Ron tapping his quill, Hermione glared at him and shouted, “Will you stop tapping, Ron?!”

“The tapping is helping me relieve stress!” he replied back, defensively.

“Well, it’s helping me get a headache! Doesn’t peace and quiet help you study better?”

“No,” Ron simply said.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air and let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. If you’re going to tap, then I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” She stomped up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory and shut the door loud enough to wake up her roommates: Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.

“Hermione! Why are you so loud?!” Lavender whispered.

“Ron is just so infuriating!” Hermione yelled. She fell onto her bed and let out another sigh. “Why can’t he understand that these exams are important to me? It’s already our sixth year at Hogwarts and I just want to make the best of it. But he just has to tap his quill to relieve stress. I can’t believe him!”

Behind her, Lavender and Parvati were giggling softly, but loud enough for Hermione to hear.

“What is it?” she asked the two girls.

“Oh…nothing,” said Lavender, still giggling. “It’s just that everyone knows you and Ron are meant to be together.”

“WHAT?!” She turned around viciously to look at them. “What are you talking about?!”

Parvati chimed in. “Don’t play dumb, Hermione.”

Hermione looked hurt at these words.

“Everyone knows Ron likes you. And everyone knows that deep down, you like him too.”

“You’re crazy. Ron and I are just friends. There’s nothing more to it than that!”

But Hermione knew that was a lie. She knew that there was some sort of attraction between them. Or maybe she was just misinterpreting things. But when has Hermione ever been wrong?

“You know he likes you, Hermione,” Lavender said softly.

“I…” Hermione stammered. Her face started getting very hot.

“Maybe you just need to convince yourself that you like him too.”

The words coming from Lavender’s mouth were surprising Hermione. In her six years at Hogwarts, Lavender Brown had never given love advice to Hermione until now.

Lavender and Parvati silently slipped back into their beds. Hermione put her head down onto a pillow and stared at the ceiling.

Ron and I are meant for each other? Please; we get into arguments everyday. There couldn’t be a worse match than us, Hermione thought.

She frowned a little at this thought. Some part of her actually wanted to believe that they were meant to be.

Then, she fell asleep, dreaming about perfect grades, Crookshanks, and Ron.

---

Ron woke up Harry early the next morning.

“Let’s go, Harry. I’m starving.”

As they headed down to the Great Hall, they saw Hermione walking towards them. Ron immediately became interested in his feet.

“Good morning, Harry!” Hermione greeted. Ron glanced up at her, but then looked down again.

Hermione raised her eyebrow. “Interested in your shoes, Ron? Maybe you should tap your quill at them to see how they like it.”

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious. I suspect you got your studying done then?”

Ron noticed Hermione turn red.

“What? You didn’t study after you stormed out like a mad woman last night?”

Hermione didn’t respond. She was recalling the conversation she had with her roommates last night.

“Hermione?”

“Um…let’s go and get some breakfast, shall we?” the bushy-haired girl hurried into the Great Hall, leaving a confused Ron and Harry behind.

“That was strange,” Harry said.

“Eh…what can you expect from Hermione? Maybe she’s not telling us something. You reckon she has another Time-Turner or something?”

Harry shook his head. “No. But whatever it is, it’s got Hermione all hot and bothered.”

The two boys walked into the Great Hall and sat next to Hermione, who didn’t even acknowledge their presence.

Lavender and Parvati were sitting across from them, giggling as usual.

“Oh! He’s so dreamy!” Parvati squealed.

“Who is?” Ron asked.

“Scott McGregory. He just broke-up with his girlfriend this morning and now he’s looking for another girlfriend. Here he comes now!”

There was no denying that Scott McGregory was handsome. The sixth year Hufflepuff had tan skin and golden brown hair that seemed perfect, even without using a comb. He was one of the taller boys at Hogwarts who had muscle in a way that didn’t look intimidating or frightening. He flashed a smile at the Gryffindor table and all the girls, even Hermione, seemed to swoon over him.

“That bloke is Scott McGregory? Don’t we have Herbology with him?” Ron asked Hermione, but she had a vague smile on her face and didn’t seem to hear him.

“Hermione?”

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

Hermione smiled. “Never been better. Why?”

“You’ve been acting strange all day. Are you still mad at me about the quill thing or what?”

“Oh, Ron. It was just a little tapping. Some things are more important than exams, like friends. Or love.”

Harry’s eyes widened. Ron almost choked on his pumpkin juice.

Hermione stood up and said, “I’m going to go now. See you in Herbology.” Then, she left the two boys, once again, confused.

“Hermione’s off her rocker!” Ron said. “Love? What’s love got to do with it?!”

“Do you think she developed a crush on McGregory?”

“McGregory? Hermione wouldn’t fall for such a bloke.”

“But Hermione did fall for Lockhart and Krum, and both of them weren’t geniuses.”

Harry made a good point, but Ron was still unconvinced. Hermione having a crush on a guy she barely knew? It happened before with Lockhart, but that was just a celebrity crush.

“Look. Hermione’s probably just a little off today. She does not have a crush on McGregory,” Ron said, reassuringly.

Well, at least he hoped she didn’t have a crush on McGregory.

Ron and Harry were relieved to have Herbology after Potions. After breathing in the heavy scent of the perfumed smoke from the potions, it was a blessing to go outside and breath in fresh air.

The two boys set out for the Herbology greenhouses, talking about the upcoming Quidditch season.

But Ron wasn’t paying much attention to Harry’s plans on beating Slytherin. His mind was on the bushy-haired witch called Hermione.

What if she does fancy McGregory? What will I do? Just watch as she falls madly in love him, something I’ve tried to do for the longest time? Maybe if I just convince her not to fall for McGregory, she’ll go to the next best thing: me, Ron thought.

He laughed menacingly to himself, thinking his plan was genius. But Ron immediately stopped after Harry stepped a few feet away from him, thinking he was crazy.

They entered the greenhouse, which was brightly lit by sunlight. They spotted Hermione gathering around a Gurdyroot, a magical plant that resembled a green onion.

Automatically, Ron and Harry joined the witch in the secluded corner of the room and began planting the root.

After several minutes of silently working, Ron decided to get his plan into action.

As casually as he could sound, he asked Hermione, “So…you fancy that McGregory bloke?”

Hermione’s head jerked up suddenly, accidentally whipping her hair into Harry’s mouth.

“Sorry, Harry,” she said while Harry choked on her bushy mane. “Ron, what did you say?”

Ron’s pale face began to feel hot and he prayed that his face wasn’t completely red. “I asked if you liked that Scott McGregory. Y’know, that Hufflepuff guy that you were swooning over at breakfast.”

The jaw on Hermione’s face dropped a few inches, but she managed to say, “I was not swooning over him. I just felt…a little faint. From the heat! Yeah! The heat! Honestly, there hasn’t been a hotter day than today.”

“It wasn’t hot in the Great Hall! I thought it was actually a bit chilly.”

“Um…” Now Hermione’s face was changing into the color red, as if the day was actually burning hot.

“Just answer the question, Hermione! Do you like him or not?”

“Stop pestering me, Ron! I don’t even know him that well!” Hermione threw her arms up in frustration. This time, she hit Harry in the face.

“Oh! Sorry, Harry!” as the spectacled wizard rubbed the spot where Hermione hit him. “Look, Ron. I don’t like Sc-”

Just then, Scott McGregory came strolling along, giving a quick, but conspicuous, glance to Hermione before passing them. Her face now resembled a tomato and felt like a hot skillet.

“You do fancy him! Look at you! You’re all red!” Ron glared, his finger pointing accusingly at her.

“I’m only turning red because you’re acting insane. Isn’t he going crazy, Harry?!” Hermione asked him.

“Hermione, maybe Ron has got a point-” Harry said calmly.

“Fine! Take his side! I should have expected that!” she exclaimed. “And why does it matter to you anyways?” she snapped at Ron.

Ron thought quickly, thinking of a reply that could convince Hermione not to like McGregory. “Well, if you do like him…I-I think we would all know how that would work out.”

Hermione raised her eyebrow. “Oh? And what is that supposed to mean?”

He cleared his dry throat, thinking of a way to push her buttons. “He’s this heartthrob, right? Well, wouldn’t he want the prettiest girl in school to date him? It just would seem right.”

A deep frown formed on Hermione’s face. “Are you implying that I’m not…pretty?”

“Look around, Hermione. Sure, you’re the smartest girl in our year, but you’re-” he struggled a little with his next words, “not…the…prettiest.”

A tear formed in Hermione’s brown eyes, but she tried her best to blink it away. Many emotions began bottling up inside her, but she couldn’t control them. The sad expression on her face contorted into rage.

It seemed as if her face couldn’t become redder, but it definitely did. She squinted her eyes close enough that they appeared to be only slits on her face. Her eyebrows were even knitted together so close that it formed, what looked like, a unibrow. “Well, Ron, if you think I’m not pretty enough, maybe I shouldn’t be your friend anymore! Then you won’t have to look at my ugly face ever again!” she shouted. She knew it was stupid to get mad over his comments; Hermione wasn’t one to care more about her looks than intelligence. But a nerve twitched madly inside her, making her lose control of her emotions.

So, she stormed out of the greenhouse, her fist shaking wildly, while the rest of the class stared at her in silence.

---

“Ron, that wasn’t right.”

Harry and Ron were now walking back to the castle. Ron’s blue eyes were still opened wide from shock. He never saw Hermione that mad.

“Look, Harry, I just wanted to let Hermione know the truth.”

“If you wanted her to know the truth, you should have told her that you fancy her.”

Ron stared at his best friend. “What are you talking about?” he inquired, trying to play dumb.

Harry, completely unconvinced by his friend’s bewildered tone, grinned. “Come off it, Ron. Quit acting like you don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

Harry shoved him aside and chuckled. “Just apologize and make everything right again. I hate it when she’s not talking to us. And tell her the truth. She might like you more than you think,” he added after Ron heaved a heavy sigh.


They headed into the Great Hall for lunch, expecting Hermione to be sitting as far away from them as possible, but were surprised when she wasn’t there.

“Where’s Hermione?” Ron asked Ginny, his sister who also had flaming red hair.

“Er…” she muttered.

“What? Is she at the library again? Looking for ways to curse me in my sleep?”

“No…” Ginny answered.

“Where, then?”

“Ron, I’m not telling you for your own good. Trust me; I think it’s better for you not to know.”

Ginny stood up and walked away, hoping she wouldn’t get interrogated more with questions from Ron.

“Maybe she’s in the common room,” Harry suggested.

Ron shrugged while his eyes scavenged the Great Hall.

“Where’s that git McGregory?”

“Don’t insult him until you get to know him,” Harry said while they left the Hall to look for Hermione. “He might not even be that bad. Hermione isn’t shallow; she’d see more to him than his looks.”

Ron grunted. “Fine. If I actually get to know him, can I insult him then?”

They walked up the stone steps, hoping to find Hermione, but all they saw were Lavender and Parvati, giggling even more than usual. When they saw Ron, their giggles increased significantly and they started whispering furiously into each other’s ears.

“What? Is my face funny to you?” Ron snapped.

Parvati stopped whispering and looked at Ron. “Well, look who it is. You seem to be a bit crankier than usual, Ron. But it’s expected.”

“Oh? And why is it expected?”

“Well, I’d be cranky, too, if my future love is getting snuggly and cuddly with another person, especially a better looking other person.”

Lavender giggled loudly at this and they both walked away without another word.

“What is she talking about?” Ron asked, but Harry seemed as confused as he was.

They entered the common room after telling the Fat Lady what the password was (which was Flitterbloom). They saw Neville Longbottom reading a book about magical herbs, but the forgetful boy’s head shot up as he saw Ron.

“Ron!”

“Hey, Neville. What is it?”

“Do you know about Hermione and-” he gulped loudly, as if scared to say the words he wanted to say, “Scott McGregory?”

“What about her and that bloke?” Ron said coldly.

“Well, according to people, McGregory was comforting her by putting his arm around her shoulders. She was in a horrible state; crying and shaking her fist everywhere. Well, you know…” Neville muttered, careful not to get Ron angry. “They couldn’t tell if she liked his company, but she sure didn’t refuse it. So now, all the girls are assuming that they’re…well, together.”

There was a moment of silence; Ron’s mouth was sputtering soundlessly, having a difficult time believing Neville’s words.

“Well, I’m sure people are just spreading rumors. Sorry, Neville, but you shouldn’t listen to what other people are saying. We’ll just ask Hermione herself,” Harry said meekly.

“Yeah…” Ron said distantly.

“Come one, Ron, let’s get some lunch. You must be starving.”

Ron nodded mechanically, unable to focus on anything else besides Hermione and McGregory.

And for the first time in a long time, Ron didn’t feel hungry.

Ron followed Harry and Neville sulkily to the Great Hall to have lunch, but a pointy-faced boy with startling blonde hair disrupted their path. Two gorilla-sized boys followed him.


“So,” Draco Malfoy drawled, “the weasel has finally come out of his cage.”


The two gorillas, Crabbe and Goyle, seemed even more threatening as their shoulders shook violently with laughter.


“Shove off, Malfoy,” Harry spat. Harry had no fear for his archenemy; just hate.


“Ooh…” the Slytherin cooed. “Potty sticking up for his friend. It’s no surprise that Weasley can’t fight his own battles-”


“SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH, MALFOY, OR I’LL TAKE IT OFF MYSELF!” Ron bellowed, while his wand pointed directly at Malfoy’s mouth. His fist was shaking madly while his face was as red as his hair.


Malfoy looked at Ron’s trembling wand and smirked maliciously. “You don’t have the guts, brains, or muscle to curse me. The worse you could do is make me eat slugs, but that’ll probably backfire on you, considering your wand is as poor as your whole family.”


Harry tried his best to restrain Ron from strangling Draco, who was laughing hysterically with his cronies.


“Help!” Harry yelled over to Neville, who scurried hastily to Ron. They dragged him down the steps leading to the Great Hall, Ron struggling to break free from their grip.


“Just let me give him a punch or two!” Ron exclaimed while throwing fists at an invisible person.


“Calm down, Ron!” Harry yelled between breaths. Dragging Ron down the Great Hall took much more strength than Harry expected.


They took a seat near the end of the table, making sure to put Ron as far away from Malfoy as possible; Malfoy was sitting near the entrance, surrounded by other Slytherins. While Ron huffed and puffed, Malfoy was animatedly telling his friends a hysterical story. It didn’t take long to figure out what he was talking about; the usually pale-faced boy made his face go extremely red and contorted it into an ugly, grouched face.


“Shut your damn mouth, Malfoy, or I’ll take it off myself!” he mocked while the other Slytherins howled with laughter.


“Damn Malfoy and his stupid mouth. As if I wasn’t having a bad enough day already. He just had to make it worse,” Ron groaned. He hid his face in his hands and shook his head shamefully. “ I could have cursed him then and there. But he’s right; I didn’t have the guts to.”


“Don’t bring yourself down, mate,” his best friend said in a comforting tone.


“But it’s true! I didn’t have the guts to curse him, and I didn’t even have the guts to tell her how I feel. And because of that, she’s gallivanting around with that McGregory git.” Ron let out another groan.


“If you hadn’t insulted her-”


“Harry! I’m in a state of misery right now! It would be best if you didn’t make it worse!”


Just then, two twins with the familiar fire hair surrounded Ron and said, “There, there, little brother.”


“Hey, Fred. Hi, George,” Ron muffled.


“He’s in a state of misery. It would be best if you didn’t make it worse,” Harry informed, echoing Ron’s earlier words.


“Ah…” George said. “We’re not here to make fun of him.”


“We’re here to help him,” rang Fred.


“Yes, we have come to the rescue, little brother.”


“A gift we give to you and no other.”


“A little token to show we care-”


“-about our brother with awfully long hair.”


“So see us in the common room.”


“And don’t forget to bring a broom!”


“Because for this gift, you must pay-”


“-by cleaning our room for the next billion days!”


Fred and George took a graceful bow; many Gryffindors were giving them standing ovations. But Ron seemed to be unimpressed by his brothers’ act.


“Did you spend your whole lunch just coming up with that silly poem?”


“Yes,” Fred answered, “but that’s beside the point.”


“We heard from several passing sixth years that you lost it in Herbology.”


“Evil Hufflepuffs…” Ron muttered.


Fred continued. “But what intrigued us more is that you lost it with a girl by the name of-”


“Hermione Granger!” they said simultaneously.


Ron simply let out a grunt, hoping his brothers would just stop. But he was so used to disappointment, he wasn’t surprised when he felt their arms around his shoulders, comforting him in a patronizing way.


“We have a solution, dear brother.”


“What is it?” Ron asked, finally playing along.


“Like we said: So see us in the common room.”


“And don’t forget to bring a broom!”


“Because for this gift you must pay-”


“-by cleaning our room for the-”


“Alright! I get it!” The youngest male Weasley left the table, unable to handle anymore of his brothers’ rubbish.


The sound of footsteps quickly followed Ron and almost instantly, Harry was walking side-by-side with him.


They made their way up to the common room again, but Ron’s feet stopped, as well as his heart.


Hermione was sauntering towards them, carrying a tower of books but still keeping perfect balance.


“Hello, Harry. Can you lend me a hand? Scott had to go to the Hufflepuff common room and couldn’t help me.”


“Uh…” Harry’s eye shifted from Ron to Hermione, then grabbed half of the tower of books. Ron nervously stared at the stone floor.


“So, Hermione…You’ve been hanging around Scott McGregory?” Harry hoped Hermione would say no, just for the sake of Ron.


“Yeah. He’s really nice. You would expect someone like him to be horrible, but he’s just the opposite. He reminds me of Viktor, actually.” Ron made a noise that sounded as if he was disgusted, but Hermione ignored that. “I thought Viktor would have fame and glory stuck in his head, but he turned out to be wonderful, just like Scott.”


“Yeah…I bet Scotty is just so wonderful,” Ron said, sarcasm eating away at his tone.


“Scott thinks I’m pretty, too!” Hermione said in a louder tone to compete with Ron’s remarks.


“Oh, sure,” Ron countered, “Pretty smart. I bet he only wants you to do his homework.”


Hermione was now yelling. “And he’s always so nice to me! He’s the nicest boy I know! Besides Harry, he’s probably one of the boys I like best at Hogwarts!”


“Oh, please. He’s only nice to you because he feels sorry for you.”


“Well, Ron, at least he’s not a complete jerk like you! Flitterbloom!” she barked at the Fat Lady.


“Thanks, Harry.” She took back her books from Harry’s arms and then jogged up to the girls’ dormitory without another word.


“She’s making stuff up,” Ron muttered to Harry. “I bet McGregory is as much a jerk as I am. And that’s saying something. Oh, look, here come Fred and George.”


The twin brothers came through the entrance carrying a thick, but pocket-sized book.


“It might be small-” started Fred.


“-but it’s been loads of help, especially during the Yule Ball,” finished George.


“Here.”

Ron took the tiny book nervously and looked skeptically at the cover. “A Thousand Ways to Win A Witch’s Heart, by a Couple of Smooth Wizards,” he read aloud. “A Couple of Smooth Wizards?”


“Yup,” George answered. “Wizard-kind owes the CSW big-time.”


“What am I supposed to do with this rubbish? It’s a book.”


“A magical book. This book has the secrets that can win you any witch you want, in your case, Hermione.”


“Are you serious? A book can’t help me win any hearts. I probably couldn’t even win the heart of a goat with this rubbish book.”


“Tsk, tsk. George, looks like our little brother wants to grow up to be a lonely, old man who will live with Mum at the Burrow for the rest of his life. What a shame.”


Fred and George swiped the book out of Ron’s hands and started to walk away.


It didn’t take long for Ron to call his brothers back and skim through the pages of the book.

Ron didn’t expect the minuscule book to be of any help. And he wasn’t thrilled with reading more than a thousand pages worth of pure nonsense.

But he was surprised when he caught his hands flipping through the pages rapidly, anxious to see what the next page held.

“How’s the book?” Harry asked, a silly grin on his face.

“Informative, actually. I’m learning loads of stuff. Apparently, girls are turned off by bad hygiene,” Ron said, proudly.

Harry snorted. “Ron, that shouldn’t be new to you.”

Ron scolded at his friend. “Sorry, Harry. I’m not as charming as you.”

He kept flipping through the oldened pages, hoping to find something useful in his pursuit to Hermione’s heart.

“Hey, Ron, turn the page,” Harry said, his voice filled with curiosity.

The following pages posed the biggest list of pick-up lines Ron had ever laid his blue eyes on.

“Hey! Listen to this one: Hey, pretty girl. Are you the Golden Snitch? If you are, I definitely want to seek you. How brilliant is that!” Harry said, between laughs. “If you’re a Parselmouth, you can charm my snake any day! That’s just bloody brilliant!” Harry exclaimed, after reading another one.

Ron couldn’t help cracking a smile himself. The pick-up lines were funny, but not a single girl would fall for them, including Hermione. She was too much of a genius to fall for dull phrases like that.

“Let’s head down to dinner,” Harry suggested. “I can hear your stomach growling.”

Clutching his stomach protectively, Ron was suddenly aware of the roaring of his own stomach. He didn’t eat lunch that day due to his “state of misery.”

They left the Gryffindor common room empty handed, except for the small book Ron was carrying in the front pocket of his school robes. It looked a bit awkward, like a baseball-sized square perturbing his stomach. The secret giggles of passing first years were conspicuous and Ron kept barking, “What are you looking at?!” until they finally saw a pleasantly familiar face.

Ginny’s rose hair was visible down the steep steps leading to the Entrance Hall and when she saw Ron with the book bulging out of his black school robes, Ginny smirked and called, “Did you accidentally eat a book, Ron?”

“Oh, shut up, Ginny,” Ron scolded, as Harry smiled widely.

“Wait, Ginny. Can you do Ron a favor?” asked Harry, who still had a boyish grin pasted on his face.

“What? What favor?!” Ron cried, confused about Harry’s awkward question.

“Sure, what is it?” Ginny asked, curious to hear what the sudden request was. Ron still looked bewildered and his eyes shifted quickly from a spirited Harry to a curious Ginny.

“Ron’s been reading this book and it’s filled with these pick-up lines. Mind if he tries some on you?”

Ginny snorted loudly and said, “This should be amusing.”

“Harry, no. I am not saying this-this rubbish to my sister,” Ron declared, his ears turning impetuously fuchsia.

“Just try one line. Might as well try it on your sister first before making a fool of yourself in front of Hermione, or any other girl.”

Still glaring at Harry, Ron took out the book and flipped to the page with the stringy list of lines. Harry smiled broadly, satisfied to know that he was victorious in persuading Ron.

“Don’t laugh, Ginny. And don’t mention this to Fred and George.” Ron cleared his throat and then muttered, gloom apparent in his voice, “Did you yell out Stupefy because I am stunned by your beauty.”

It took only seconds for Ginny’s light brown eyes to fill with tears; she was having a laughing frenzy alongside a flushed-faced Harry, who removed his round glasses to wipe his damp eyes.

“Ha,” Ron said, sarcastically. His pale face turned crimson. “I’m glad you found that funny.”

After a few minutes of Harry and Ginny clutching their aching stomachs from using so much of their breath to laugh, they finally entered the Great Hall, Ron walking glumly behind them.

Hermione was sitting between Neville and Dean Thomas, a dark-skinned boy with an incredible talent for art. She was trying to hold a polite conversation with the two boys, but became distracted as Ron, Ginny, and Harry gathered around her.

“Hullo, Hermione,” Ginny greeted. “How have you been?”

“Great, actually,” Hermione answered, with a bright grin on her face. Ron glimpsed at her chirpy smile and frowned deeply. Was she happy without him?

“I can guess why you’re happy,” Ginny said, nudging Hermione slightly in the ribs. “I think his name starts with a ‘S’ and ends with a ‘Gregory’.”

Hermione giggled, a high-pitched giggle that wasn’t like Hermione at all. Ron, his face exposing the disgust he felt, turned to Harry, who merely shrugged.

“Well, I’ll see you,” Ginny said, but Hermione stood up with all her belongings, which included a gargantuan book she had borrowed for some “light” reading, and followed them. “I’ll sit with you.”

Ron took a furtive glance at the shaggy-haired girl, secretly wanting to admire that pretty face he had grown to love, but swiftly looked away when he noticed her brown eyes upon him as well.

---

That night, Ron wasn’t able to sleep. His pillow felt like an enraged porcupine under his fragile head, but that wasn’t the cause of his sleep deprivation; she had permeated through his skull and into his mind.

Hermione had given him a look; a small look, but nonetheless, meaningful. Her eyes were filled with some emotion; he just didn’t know what. She probably misses me! thought Ron, excitement bubbling in his veins. That McGregory git is nothing compared to me!

A yawn escaped from Ron’s mouth while he turned to his side, his head resting silkily on the now comfortable cushion; he imagined the pillow to be Hermione’s hair, the bushy mane he had dreamed of running his fingers through, smelling the aroma of the fruity shampoo she used. Why couldn’t that dream become a reality?

She’ll be mine soon, he thought, stroking the velvety pillow the way he would stroke her feathery, brown hair.

His eyes gradually began to close, his thoughts about Hermione drifting away into nothing but darkness.

He fell asleep reluctantly; he still wanted to think about her.

---

In the girls’ dormitory, a flustered girl tossed and turned in her four-poster bed. Hermione couldn’t sleep; too many thoughts were swimming through her mind, invading the sheep she usually counted before drifting into her temporary hibernation.

Earlier, Scott had hugged her comfortingly, his arms wrapped around her neck, tightly. She tried her best not to blush, but she already felt the heat rising into her cool cheeks. He had chuckled kindly, smiling in a way that made Hermione’s insides melt into liquid.

Embraces were rarely given to Hermione. There were those one-armed squeezes she got from one of her best friends, Harry; the “hugs” that looked awkward and even felt uncomfortable. But those comfort gestures never really developed into actual heart-felt hugs. And Ron wasn’t exactly a “loving person.”

On the outside, at least.

She had only known Scott for less than a day, but she liked him. He was kind, thoughtful, generous, caring, and everything Ron couldn’t be whenever he was around her. Scott had been there when she needed someone the most.

He’s not the one, though, a voice in her head interrupted.

Handsome, caring, and generous. Yeah…that’s my worst nightmare, she argued with herself, sarcastically.

It’s Ron you love. Don’t deny it.

But Ron was supposed to be her shoulder to cry on. She would have never guessed that Ron would be the one to make her cry in the first place.

Hermione shifted to her side and tried to get Ron out of her mind. But she failed miserably in doing so.

He has the nerve to get angry with me. I should be angrier with him! He insulted me in more ways than anyone else has, except for that ferret, Malfoy. But how could Ron stoop to that level? Hermione asked herself.

Hermione shifted to her other side, trying to shake the fire-haired boy out of her frustrated thoughts.

But he’ll miss me. I know he will.

She rested on her back, the springs of her bed making only the slightest creak.

Because I already miss him.

And with that last thought, Hermione fell asleep with nothing but Ron’s blue eyes and freckles on her mind.

---

“Ginny, stop trying to defend Ron,” Hermione told Ginny the next morning. It was finally the weekend; Hermione and Ginny were strolling along the grounds, the sun barely over the horizon and the grass still teary with dew.

“Hermione, he likes you. I know he does.” Ginny looked at her friend with determined eyes, which showed no sign of doubt. “He’s just…shy.”

Hermione laughed coldly. “I’ve known him for so many years. I’m his friend! Well…was his friend. He can tell me anything.” And before Ginny could counter with her statement, she added, “And if he really did like me, he wouldn’t-he wouldn’t have insulted me like that.”

“But that’s the thing!” Ginny exclaimed, her hands flying up into the air. “My brother is a git! He doesn’t know how to share his feelings!”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Hermione walked alongside Ginny back to the massive castle without mentioning Ron until they arrived into the Entrance Hall.

“Speaking of Ron, there he is,” Ginny whispered, elbowing Hermione hard in the arms. “You should go talk to him.”

“No! I’m not going to let him ruin my morning, again. Let’s just go-”

“Ginny! Hermione! Wait!”

Damn, Hermione thought as she dragged herself behind Ginny, who was walking toward a cheerful-looking Ron.

“Morning, Ginny. Hi, Hermione,” Ron greeted with a warm smile.

Her narrowed eyes leering at Ron, Hermione simply let out a grunt. She wasn’t going to forgive Ron until he apologized, which she assumed would take a long time.

“Come on, Hermione. You know you want to talk to me,” Ron teased, a cute smile playing along his face.

Look at him! He thinks he knows me! Hermione’s thoughts nagged. I don’t care how charming that smile is; I’m not going to fall for that!

She crossed her arms grumpily and turned her back towards him. As she turned around, her eyes tracked down a familiarly handsome face making his way towards her.

“Hermione! Good morning!” said the beckoning voice of Scott McGregory. His hair looked disheveled from a fierce wind, but it complemented his majestic face just fine. “Just came back from Quidditch practice. How have you been?”

“She’s been fine without you,” Ron answered, his sunny face now masked by an irritated scowl.

“Excuse him. He can be rather rude most of the time,” Hermione explained, while she gave Ron daggers through her glaring eyes.

Scott, who was standing stiffly beside Hermione, said, “Maybe I’ll just go and get some breakfast, then. Want to come, Hermione?” He flashed a smile that could make angels sing, making it hard for Hermione to refuse.

“G-Ginny? Want t-to come?” Hermione asked, her voice quivering from nervousness as Scott’s arm snaked around her shoulders.

“No, thank you. I wouldn’t want to interrupt,” she answered, beaming at her good, frizzy-haired friend.

The pair walked into the Great Hall while Ron, gawking at the attractive couple, dug his hands in his robes, searching for a succor to help him split the two apart.

“What are you doing?” Ginny asked, giving him a strange look.

He felt the smooth corners of A Thousand Ways to Win a Witch’s Heart, pulled it out of his pocket, and skimmed through the pages, hoping to find some helpful advice.

“I’m trying to find out how to break them up.”

As Ron read down the page, absorbing the information given to him, Harry traipsed down the stone steps and approached Ron. “What’s that?”

“The book he was reading yesterday,” Ginny answered for Ron, who was entranced by the words in front of him. “He’s trying to find out how to break Hermione and Scott up.”

“Shush, Ginny, I’m reading,” Ron said, his eyes still glued to the miracle book.

Harry, stunned by the words that crawled out of Ron’s mouth, chuckled and said, “Reading?” Harry had never witnessed Ron choosing an academic activity over eating a extravagant breakfast in the morning.

“You know that McGregory git? He’s-he’s-he’s-” Ron stuttered, unable to form the right sentence to describe how horrible things were getting between Scott and Hermione.

“He’s what? It’s not like they’re together, right?”

Ron let out a sigh, then murmured, “Not yet. You should see him, putting his arm around her like the perfect gentleman. It’s like he’s a machine, programmed to be perfect. Well, I know there’s something wrong with him. There must be something wrong with him. The book says so.”

Harry scoffed. “And does the book tell you to wrestle an angry werewolf? No. Just tell her how you feel. This book can’t help you fall in love.”

“But it can! Listen: If the witch you love is in the arms of another wizard, all you have to do is make a choice. You can let it be and find another girl to love, like that’ll work out, or separate the two by forcing the witch to see only the flaws of the other man. To accomplish this, you must be sneaky and cunning. You must follow the other man and search for any reason for her to break-up with him. See? Great plan, huh?”

Harry stared at him, incredulously. “Great plan? Ron, this is ridiculous. You can’t just follow McGregory everywhere he goes. You’d probably just waste your time. And Hermione would be even more furious with you.”

“Harry, I have to split them apart. I can’t compete with him! If he’s out of the picture, making Hermione fall for me would be so much easier!”

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron, who sounded pathetic at this point, but gave in and said, “Fine. Do whatever. But if this plan of yours backfires, remember my advice: Just tell her how you feel.”

“And if that doesn’t work, I hear Lavender Brown has her eyes on you. You can always use her to make Hermione jealous,” Ginny suggested, a devilish smirk on her face. Harry shoved her lightly and shook his head, mouthing, That’s not a good idea to the Weasley daughter.

Ron looked at his best friend and his only sister, thankful that they were both helping him in his love mission. “Thanks for the support, guys.”

Trying his best to finish the chapter before breakfast ended, Ron sponged in all the advice he needed to ruin the newly formed relationship between the witch he loved and the prat he barely knew. With the magical book aiding him, Hermione’s heart seemed to be getting closer and closer to Ron’s grasp.