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.
A Thousand Ways to Win a Witch's Heart by poisonapple
Chapter Notes: All characters, besides one, belong to J.K. Rowling. Without her, this story wouldn't even exist.
And I hope you enjoy my first fan fiction!