Ron rushed down the hallways towards the Gryffindor Tower. Where was Harry when he needed to have a manly chat? He got all the way up to the portrait of the Fat Lady when he realized that he had no idea what the password was anymore. Anytime he came to Gryffindor Tower he usually came with Harry or one of his other Gryffindor friends and he never paid much attention to what they said to the portrait.
“SHIT!” yelled Ron.
“There’s no need for language like that, mister,” said the Fat Lady reprovingly, staring down at him.
“Hey, Ron, you okay?” Dean Thomas had just appeared.
“Hey Dean! I was just going to talk to Harry when I realized that I don’t know the password anymore. Can you let me in?” Ron said as he tried to slow his heart.
“Yeah, sure. The password’s, ‘new beginnings.’” Dean said and the portrait swung open. As they climbed through the portrait hole, Dean whispered, “Personally I think the Fat Lady’s starting to spend a little too much time thinking up passwords. They’re starting to get very philosophical.”
Ron laughed and stared around the room looking for Harry. He saw him sitting on a couch talking to Ginny and hurried over. He was moving so fast he knocked over a few first years in the process. Only when he reached him did Ron begin to notice that he was in the Gryffindor common room once more. His last year here and he wasn’t even spending much time relaxing in the squashy armchairs with Harry and hurrying to finish his homework with the assistance of Hermione. But that didn’t matter now. There were more pressing problems.
“Harry, we’ve got a big problem.”
“Again? Ron can’t you just stay out of trouble?” Ginny said, exasperated.
Ron turned to Ginny. “Can’t you see that I’m trying to voice a rather large problem here? What are you doing here anyways? Don’t you have something to do?”
“Well, Harry and I were just discussing Quidditch when you rudely interrupted.”
“You’re welcome,” Ron said as he seated himself between the two. Ginny, finding very little room left on the couch, voiced her annoyance and moved to a nearby armchair.
He turned to Harry. “I think Hermione’s fallen for Malfoy. And Malfoy’s leading her on!”
“Merlin, Ron! Can’t you just leave Hermione alone to make her own choices? She’s a big girl now!” Ginny said, throwing her hands in the air.
“Who was asking you? I’m pretty sure that I was just talking to Harry. But thanks for your input!”
“Um, Ron?” Harry said, not at all anxious to interrupt sibling rivalry. “I kind of agree with Ginny as well.”
“What?” Ron rounded on Harry.
“You know Hermione. She wouldn’t make a stupid decision without thoroughly thinking it through. Especially in the bloke department. I mean, I definitely don’t approve of her choice,” Harry added, seeing the look on Ron’s face, “but she wouldn’t make her decision without a little logic.”
“Thank you, Harry,” Ginny said happily. “Why can’t you be more like Harry, Ron?”
“Maybe she’s not really falling for him. Don’t go drawing conclusions on your own. If you’re really worried about this, ask Hermione when she comes back to your dormitory,” Harry said, his logic winning.
“But she’ll yell at me if I’m wrong. I’m not really up for that tonight,” said Ron as he gave one of the fakest yawns ever. “You ask her Ginny; you’re a girl.”
“They’re your suspicions. You man up and ask her yourself. What exactly gave you this idea anyway?”
“I was kind of spying on them in the library. Hermione was laughing at all his jokes. And he had his hand on top of hers.” Ron’s face turned red as he spoke and his hands clenched into fists.
“Just go back to your room and calm down before Hermione comes back,” Harry said quickly, his air of tranquility fading away a bit.
Ron wandered out, his fists still clenched. Harry watched him leave. Once he has passed through the portrait hole, Harry growled angrily. “What is she doing, enjoying her lessons with Malfoy? After the things he called her?” Harry stood up and started pacing in front of the couch.
“Wow, unexpected anger from Harry Potter. What happened to all the stuff you just said to Ron?” Ginny grinned in his direction.
“Well, that was just to keep him calm. Ron’s a little bit worse than me when he gets angry, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, well, still…” Ginny smiled wider.
“Oh, shut up.”
*************
Meanwhile, Ron sprinted back up to his dormitory, hoping that Hermione hadn’t finished her lesson yet. Actually, it would be better if her lesson was finished and she was doing her homework in the library. He muttered the password to the door, trying to catch his breath.
He entered the room and took a quick look around. Neither Hermione nor her giant bag of books was there.
“Thank goodness,” Ron muttered under his breath. He sat down on the couch and faced one of the pillows.
“Hermione? Um… I kind of saw you and Malfoy during your lesson? Are you guys… No, that’s way too direct.” Ron shook his head. “Hey Hermione! How was your lesson?”
Just as he said these words, Hermione entered the room.
“Great, thanks for asking!” Hermione replied dropping her bag on a chair.
“Oh, hi Hermione! Guess you’re finished huh?” Ron said, turning around quickly.
“Yes. That would explain why I’m here Ron,” Hermione said, noting Ron’s nervousness. “Is something wrong?” she said, peering curiously into his eyes.
“No, no! Everything’s fine!” Ron said trying to avoid her gaze. Hermione shot him a look of deep suspicion, which he saw out of the corner of his eye. “What’s up with you and Malfoy?” he blurted out quickly.
“Nothing, Ronald!!! How dare you suggest such a thing?” Hermione said, her faux anger masking her fear. She picked up her book bag again and stormed off to her room.
“But I saw,” Ron said as Hermione shut the door. “Just forget it.” He sat down on the couch again. “Damn it! I hate it when Ginny’s right.” Ron whispered to himself.
Hermione shut her door with a bang. Oh no, she thought. Am I really that obvious? That Ron, who never notices anything, can tell?
She flopped onto her bed and tried to calm down. So what if Ron suspected? The Draco I know is completely different from the one he knows. He shouldn’t be judging him or me. Ron doesn’t know him.
And you think you do? It’s Draco Malfoy, Hermione, said the reasonable voice in her head. This voice had not recently been listened to. How can one person been a complete prat for six years to everyone, and then suddenly change to be kind to you? When has that ever happened before?
He changed! It’s as simple as that.
Some people can never change.
Teaching the Dark by BittersweetLove
Chapter Notes: I'm ever so sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. Apart from my own laziness, I also had to deal with a temperamental laptop and faulty internet connection. But my hands are cramping from all the typing I did today, so that's always a plus. Enjoy!