Obvious

Ron stared at his best friend in disbelief. Had Harry finally gone mad? Had the pressure finally gotten to him? There was no other explanation for the words that were coming out of his mouth at this very moment.

"Trees, Ron. Trees," Harry said with raised eyebrows. "You know... those large, green, leafy things with trunks?"

Ron frowned. He must have missed a compartment on this train of thought. "I know what trees are, Harry. But what I don't know is what this has to do with Hermione. Or with me, for that matter."

Harry leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and said very seriously, "Trees are obvious, Ron."

Ron felt like gluing his head to a desk. "What's obvious is that you're completely insane."

Harry nodded. "Possibly. But I'm not the one who is missing what's right in front of him."

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Ron snapped. "What am I missing?"

"Ron, have you ever met anyone who didn't believe in trees?"

"How could someone not believe in trees?" Ron muttered peevishly. "That's just madness."

"Exactly," Harry replied, grinning from ear to ear. "So you get my point, then?"

Ron groaned. "There's a point to this?" He sighed. "Harry, I think you should go see Madam Pomfrey. There's something wrong with you."

Harry shook his head and tried again. "Okay, see, the thing with trees is..."

"Is this like that tree-in-the-forest thing and no one hearing it or some such nonsense? Because I never did really get that."

"No, it's not. It's..."

"What're you two up to?"

Ron looked up to see his savior in the form of his baby sister. "Ginny! Rescue me from this lunatic, will you? He's speaking in riddles."

Ginny grinned. "Riddles? Interesting. Do tell."

"Not riddles," Harry corrected. "Trees."

"Ah, yes," Ginny nodded. "Trees. Has it helped?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Not in the least. Thick as a stump, this one."

"Hey!" Ron protested loudly. "How can you expect me to understand anything when you keep using your 'secret code' to confuse me?"

Ginny laughed. "Harry, d'you mind if I give it a go?" She settled herself onto the sofa next to her brother and gave him a patronizing look. "Ron, here's the thing. Everyone believes in trees because they're obvious. You can't miss them because they're right in front of your face. We need trees in order to breathe, to survive. They're necessary to our well-being."

Ron sighed. "I still don't see what this has to do with me. I never said I didn't believe in trees."

Ginny reached out and patted his hand in a very Mrs. Weasley-like manner. "Ron, this may come as a shock to you, but you and Hermione are trees."

If Ron hadn't been so concerned for his sister's mental health, he would have laughed out loud. "Er... Ginny? I do believe that Hermione and I are humans."

Harry laughed. "See? Thick. Like a stump."

"Shut up, Harry."

Ginny grinned. "Let's try this again, shall we?" She began to speak as though to a caveman. "Trees. Obvious. Necessary. You. Hermione. Trees. Obvious. Necessary."

Comprehension dawned like a new morning, and suddenly Ron could feel his ears turning bright red. "It's madness," he protested half-heartedly. "Complete and utter madness."

"Madness," Ginny countered, "or the truth?"

Ron sat for a moment and let the words sink in. Was she right? Had he missed the obvious even as it was right in front of his face?

"Well," said Ginny, standing up with a satisfied smirk on her face. "I can see that we've given you a lot to think about. Come on, Harry. Let's leave the poor wretch alone with his thoughts."

Ron continued to sit in stunned silence as life in the Common Room carried on around him. Trees. Obvious. Me. Hermione. Necessary. Obvious. His thoughts swirled around and around in his muddled brain - he couldn't seem to catch one for longer than a second.

"Ron? Are you all right?"

His head snapped up at the unexpected sound of her voice. "H-Hermione! Yes, yes, I'm fine. And you?"

She gave him an odd look and sat down beside him on the couch, laying her books on the table and curling her legs up underneath her. "I'm fine," she answered with a smile. "Are you sure you're all right?"

He nodded, hoping she wouldn't notice the blush he could feel creeping up his neck. She gave him another tentative smile and pulled another book from her bag. He watched as she opened it and began to read, sporadically scratching notes on a piece of parchment. Suddenly Ron couldn't help but notice every little thing about her. The way her curls dangled in front of her face... the way she blew at them absently when they tickled her nose... the way her ink-stained fingers held the book with reverence and care... the way she kept sending furtive glances his way when she felt his eyes on her.

"Ron, how am I supposed to study when you keep staring at me?"

His brain tried to formulate an answer, but his mouth beat him to the punch. "Hermione, do you believe in trees?"

Now she was the one looking at him like he was mad. "Are you sure you're all right, Ron?"

"Do you?" he repeated, hoping she wouldn't hear the anticipation in his voice. "Do you believe in trees?"

Hermione set her book down and looked at him, amusement in her brown eyes. "Of course I believe in trees, Ron. Why wouldn't I?" She shrugged. "They're obvious. Right in front of your face."

Ron nodded as he felt a grin splitting his face. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Obvious, you know. Necessary."

She gave him another odd look and picked up her book again. "Right. Necessary."

Ron sighed contentedly as Hermione went back to her reading and he went back to his thinking. Trees, eh? If he had known they would have been this useful, he would have paid much more attention to them.

But it was never too late to start.

FIN