Ronald Weasley and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Seven:

Getting to Know You

He had very weird dreams that night. They weren't bad per se, they were just really strange. In one, Ron was training Neville how to brew a Hair Growth Potion (something they hadn't learned in class and that he wasn't sure existed in reality), because Neville wanted to look like Ron's brother Bill. In another, a panel of judges (a troll, Hermione, and his mother) judged his performance of the Levitation Charm. The troll, who kept getting hit in the head with the feather, gave him a ten out of ten on every try. Hermione and his mother, however, kept finding things to criticize, and by the end of the dream he was beyond frustrated. But then everything was alright; he, Harry, and Hermione were laughing, sitting on the floor of the girls' bathroom eating pie.

That had been the dream to wake him up. He didn't quite know why, but he had a smile on his face as he thought about it. Ron imagined Hermione probably wouldn't have been in so much trouble if they'd just been caught eating pie in the bathroom rather than having knocked out the troll. He tried hard to visualize what the look on McGonagall's face would have been in that circumstance. Begrudgingly, he supposed he and Harry probably wouldn't have won House Points for Gryffindor. In fact, they may have gotten detention over it; eating pie in the bathroom was probably strictly forbidden.

Sitting up in his bed, Ron pulled back the curtains of his four-poster and saw that it was still dark outside. Nearby he could hear Harry snoring lightly, his breath coming out in short bursts. He leaned forward on his mattress toward the table that separated Harry and his beds and picked up the alarm clock, squinting to try to discern the time. Six-thirty in the morning. Should he go downstairs or not? He didn't think he'd be able to get back to sleep at this point. Undoubtedly there would be no one else in the common room, so it wasn't exactly like it would be much different down there. Still, he couldn't lie in his bed for much longer. He was becoming too restless.

Slipping out from under the covers, Ron donned his ugly maroon robe and snuck out of the room. The stone stairs were cool on his bare feet, but Ron didn't mind and he wandered down the spiral of steps and into the common room.

He wasn't alone. Sitting by the fire on a squashy couch, her back to him, Ron was mildly surprised to see Hermione's bushy hair. She appeared to be fast at work, the sound of her scratching quill hitting his ears as he stood in the doorway and watched her. Was she seriously awake this early and working on homework? Man, doesn't she ever give it a rest? he wondered. Rather than being annoyed as he would have only a day ago, Ron found it sort of endearing. Clearly school was something Hermione was just passionate about.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked with a yawn. Hermione jumped at the noise, gasping loudly and nearly knocking over her bottle of ink. She gave him a startled, reproachful type of look, but it softened when she realized who was standing there.

"Oh...I could ask you the same question," she said, placing a hand over her chest as if to calm her racing heart. "I always get up this early."

"Why? Homework?"

"No, I do my homework during the day," Hermione said as she turned back to whatever she was working on. "I write in my diary in the morning."

"You have a diary?" Ron asked as he crossed the room to sit in a chair near her. The fire instantly warmed his cold toes and Ron easily squashed down near her.

"Yes, I do," she mumbled back. Feeling like she would like to be left alone, Ron didn't say anything else. He just sat there, staring alternately between the fire and Hermione. He realized after a few minutes that now would be the ideal time to work on that letter to Ginny and try out the Sorting Code, but he didn't really feel like rushing back up the stairs, especially now that he was comfortable in his chair.

Instead, he turned his thoughts to Percy. What was he going to do? Well, he certainly had to try to talk to his brother. Yes, he knew what it was like to be overshadowed and feel like you could have just as easily done the same thing. Ron wasn't dumb enough to believe that Percy couldn't have taken on the troll. It was hard, though, to not be angry about it. In truth, it felt like the owl thing all over again. Percy thought that, due to his age and rank, he deserved to have every sort of glory possible over Ron. That was why he deserved an owl and it was why he felt Ron should have come to him, so he could take care of it and be the one bragging to the room full of Gryffindors. It was also why he had rushed off to tell their parents. If it would have been him, Percy probably would have made a grand story of it and made it seem far more glamorous than it really was. In that way, he would have kept himself from trouble. But since it was Ron, he had probably loaded that letter up with negative statements and emphasized the recklessness of Ron's actions.

Ron secretly dreaded the response from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Would they be terribly angry with him? He could imagine spending the Christmas holidays grounded, unable to contact his friends with Errol or Hermes. His mum would make him degnome the garden in freezing conditions (which was much harder, since they were inclined to stay in their holes when it was cold) and make him help her wrap presents Muggle-style. His brothers would be allowed to play in the snow, but he would be stuck indoors, sweeping cobwebs from the corners and praying that spiders wouldn't fall on him.

He really didn't want to think about this right now. Hermione was still scratching away, stopping to look down at her writing for brief periods of time, as if she were deciding if what she had written was satisfactory. Ron couldn't see the point in keeping a diary. He supposed it would be useful for lists or goal setting, but as far as writing down what had happened to you, he figured that was what your brain was for. It was easy enough to remember something wasn't it? But still, it seemed to be fun for Hermione, especially if she wrote in it every day. She must have felt she needed it.

Hermione sighed loudly and Ron's eyes, which had shifted to the scarlet carpet, swiveled back up to her quickly. She was pinching the bridge of her nose as though she were in pain.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, alarmed. "Do you have a headache?" It was only now that he remembered she got them frequently.

"Yes, actually," she said with a groan. "I get them all the time. I hate it when it happens early in the morning, because then I have to try to go the whole day with them and I get quite irritable." Ron fought the urge to nod knowingly; no doubt that would just make the anger worse.

Instead, he frowned and said, "I wish there was something I could do for you."

"Well, I take aspirin for them, but it doesn't always work."

"What's aspirin?" Ron said, perplexed.

"Erm...it's a Muggle medicine. Like a potion, but in a capsule."

"Oh," Ron said, though he didn't quite know what she meant by "capsule." Usually when he, his brothers, or Ginny felt ill, Mrs. Weasley would make them some sort of potion that would heal it instantly. Wait a minute...that was it! "Isn't there a potion that you can make that'll take care of headaches?"

Hermione looked slightly guilty. "I've looked in the library for something, but there doesn't seem to be one that'll work. At least not one that isn't complicated and doesn't take long to make." Ron found this hard to believe. He knew for a fact that his mum was capable of making a potion for her own headaches that she got frequently in a matter of hours. Surely Hermione would be able to do it too! It occurred to him, though, that his mum was also rather experimental with potions; what if she had made up her own headache potion?

Hermione was now fumbling in her school bag and pulled out a bottle full of little white pills. So that's what she meant by capsules! "Here's what aspirin looks like," she explained while holding the bottle up to the light. Ron was mildly intrigued, and watched as she poured one into her hand and threw it back into her mouth. He was expecting her to chew it, but instead she swallowed it whole.

They lapsed back into silence, Hermione scribbling hurriedly into her diary. Ron stared at her, trying to figure out what could be done with her situation. He supposed he could write to his mother and ask for the recipe. He really wasn't sure if potions could be sent to someone at Hogwarts. Did they check the mail? Would he get in trouble? He was sure that Madame Pomfrey, the school Healer, could make a headache potion, but he wondered how long that took to make. Was Hermione even willing to get help from the nurse? Or was she determined to fix this problem on her own?

"Alright, I'm done," Hermione said finally, shutting her diary. Ron hadn't been expecting her to finish, so he was thrown a little off-guard. Now what were they going to do?

"Erm..." Hermione said after a moment of Ron being quiet. "I wanted to...er...thank you...for yesterday."

Ron's eyes widened. He really hadn't expected another show of gratitude from Hermione. It wasn't that he thought she wasn't nice, it was that he had rather thought she had thanked him enough.

"Right," he said. "Me too."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Because you lied to Professor McGonagall for us," Ron said, rolling his eyes. Did she honestly think that he was going to let her get away without thanking her for it?

"Oh...right." Hermione looked ashamed again. She must be really upset about it, Ron thought.

"Why did you do that, by the way?" Ron asked, looking at her with his head cocked slightly. Hermione seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

"I just...well, I thought...it really didn't make sense for you two to get in trouble. You saved my life."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have needed to save it if I would have been nicer to you earlier in the day." Now Ron found himself unable to look at her, so he brought his eyes back down to the carpet. It was hard enough to admit his mistake from yesterday to himself, but to say it to the person who had been affected was beyond difficult.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I just got upset over nothing-"

"No you didn't, Hermione!" Ron said, feeling incredulous over what she had just said. After all, she had overheard him saying he hated her! To Ron, that certainly did not count as nothing to be upset about.

"Yes I did! I should have just realized you were frustrated and been nicer about it." They found themselves finally both able to look one another in the eye. Hermione's look was glaring; similar, in fact, to how she had looked at him in Transfigurations when they argued. It was weird, but Ron felt oddly thrilled over the argument he could tell was brewing. It was like second nature, really.

"But you were nice about it!" he said hotly. "I was a prat!"

"Yes you were, but I should have seen that you would get over it eventually!"

"How could you? You barely know me!"

"Are we really arguing over this?!" Hermione suddenly spat out loudly. Shrinking down slightly in her seat, she turned around to look over the back of the couch, making sure no one had overheard and were in the process of walking in on their conversation.

"I guess so," Ron said with a smirk. "Feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Strangely," Hermione answered with a frown. Then she laughed. "Guess we're just going to have to get used to this, right?"

Ron grinned widely. "Of course."

"Look," Hermione began, "I don't want you to be too hard on yourself for what happened yesterday. The thing is, if it wouldn't have happened, we wouldn't be friends now, would we?"

Now it was Ron's turn to frown. He hadn't thought of it in that way. Though his relief at finally being able to consider Hermione a friend had far outweighed most of his other emotions, Ron had been aware of a feeling of guilt looming deep beneath the surface. He had felt that Harry had been right last night; Hermione wouldn't have needed saved if they hadn't have locked her in the bathroom with the troll and if Ron wouldn't have been so unkind to her. He never thought to make the connection between his being mean to her and their now blossoming friendship.

"No," Ron finally replied. "I'm still mad at myself, though. I can't stop."

"Well, I'm not mad at you," Hermione said with so much conviction that Ron was rather surprised. It was hard for him to believe that she could have possibly forgiven him completely.

"Why?" he wondered aloud. "I mean, I probably couldn't forgive someone that fast if I'd overheard them talking bad about me."

Hermione sighed, as though dreading explaining herself. Still, she trudged on. "Yesterday I didn't just cry over what you said. I was mad at myself."

"Why?"

"Because we'd already talked about it and you explained to me that people feel intimidated by me. I knew you don't like being helped by me, but I went and did it anyway. I've been trying really hard to not interfere, too, but I completely cast all that aside and did it anyway. I mean, yes it did hurt what you said, but I felt that I deserved it."

"But you didn't!" Ron exclaimed, a fresh wave of annoyance at her hitting him. Was she always this stubborn? "Hermione, it's not that I don't like being helped by you, it's just...er..." Ron sighed now, hating what he was about to admit to her. "I...I'm jealous of you."

"Why on earth would you be jealous of me?" Hermione asked with a very bemused expression on her face.

"It's hard to explain, really. Up until now I'd never gone to school. I always thought I'd be really good at it and get the best marks. But then I got here and...well...I learned that I'm not that great at it. And you're amazing and smart and wonderful at every class. I guess when I'm around you in class, I'm just reminded that I'm not good at anything...that I'm dumb."

"Oh, Ron, but you're not!" Hermione said, looking horrified. "You're brilliant!"

Ron snorted. "Like how?"

"Well, there are loads of things you're better at than I am. Like Flying! I mean, you were the only one to get bonus points for having a naturally perfect gripping technique! Even Malfoy and Harry didn't get that!"

"I only knew that because I have older brothers!" Ron insisted. "And it's not like Flying is a real class, Hermione. We only take it in first year and then we're done with it."

"Well, you've gotten better marks in Herbology! I know you have!" Hermione retorted.

"Only because I work with Neville on it."

"I bet you're better at Defense Against the Dark Arts! What score did you get on our in-class practice session the other day?"

Ron felt distinctly embarrassed, as though his privacy were being invaded. He hadn't been too proud of his twenty-two out of twenty-five points at trying the Tickling Charm, especially since Harry had gotten a perfect score on it. Ron had been too engrossed in his own work to notice Hermione's progress (plus he'd been rather angry with her over their Transfiguration assignment). He really didn't want her to know how he did, though. Chances were that she had only gotten a point taken off for bad posture or something like that.

"I'd rather not say," Ron said. "What did you get?"

"Oh..." Hermione answered, her face turning pink. Apparently she hadn't expected to have her own question turned on her like that. "A...twenty-one."

"Really?!" Ron asked. He didn't mean to sound too shocked. It just seemed so unlike her to get anything below the highest mark. Hermione covered her face with her hands in thorough embarrassment, and Ron quickly sought to mend the situation. "Well, that's not much worse than I did. I got a twenty-two."

"Well," Hermione mumbled as she uncovered her face. "See? You are better than me in something."

"I'm sure it was a fluke," Ron said. He didn't say it because he felt humble, but because Hermione's look of absolute shame was enough to make him feel guilty. "You'll probably do better at the homework than me."

"Only because it's definitional questions," she said. "If it were practical work, I'd do far worse than you."

Ron decided not to argue, simply because he had a feeling that there would be no winning for him. Hermione was determined to think that she was worse than him at Defense Against the Dark Arts, so he was just going to let her think it until he could prove her wrong on their next in class assignment. So, instead of replying verbally, he simply shrugged and thought, This isn't over, Granger.

At around eight in the morning, people began to filter into the common room, yawning and stretching, ready to greet the new day. Ron decided at about fifteen after the hour that he should probably get a shower (he still had the smell of troll in his hair and smudges of dirt across his face that Hermione had surprisingly not said anything about), so he left Hermione with the promise that they would sit together at breakfast.

When he was done with showering and completely dressed, Ron left the Gryffindor boys' bathroom and made his way back up to his dormitory and found Harry pulling robes from out of his trunk, getting ready for what they both knew wouldn't be a fun day; Fridays meant Double Potions. As Ron walked toward his own bed and trunk and pulled out his own set of robes, he couldn't help but notice how disheveled Harry looked. His hair was messier than usual and, just like Ron, his face was smudged with dust from the girls' bathroom. Ron smirked; clearly Harry hadn't realized that he was still a mess.

"Er...Harry, buddy?" Ron said, trying to hold back a laugh. "Maybe you should shower first."

"Why?" Harry asked blearily.

"Because you look like you've rolled around in dirt," Ron said. At first, Harry didn't react to this news at all. He simply stood there, confused, giving Ron a look that clearly said Ron was going crazy. Then, it dawned on him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'd forgotten about all of that!" Laughing, Harry went over to the linen cupboard and pulled out a monogrammed Gryffindor towel and washcloth. Before leaving, he turned back to Ron and asked, "Where have you been all morning?"

"Downstairs talking with Hermione," Ron replied easily. "She's going to sit with us at breakfast, if that's okay?"

"Yes, it's okay!" Harry said with a laugh. "She's our friend, isn't she?"

"Of course," Ron said with a grin. He watched happily as Harry turned on his heel and exited the room. It seemed everything really was resolved between the three of them.

* * *

"Do you suppose I should tell Hermione?" Harry whispered, keeping a wary eye on Snape, who was across the dungeon, praising Malfoy's Wart Reducing Potion. Despite having been impressed with them for knocking out the troll the night before (or at least seeming like he was), Snape was being just as hard on Ron and Harry as ever, having already snapped at them twice for talking. Hermione, who sat a short distance away with Neville, kept glancing over at them and giving them both sympathetic and annoyed looks.

Ron made sure Snape was still out of earshot when he answered. "Tell Hermione what?" he asked under his breath while adding scarab beetle eyes to his navy blue potion.

"About the package and all that," Harry said.

"Oh!" Ron breathed. "Well, yeah. She's one of us now, isn't she?"

"That's what I was thinking," Harry replied, stirring his potion rather half-heartedly counter-clockwise. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright with it."

"Of course I'm alright with it," Ron said in a frustrated sort of voice. All day, Harry had been looking between the two of them quizzically, as if expecting them to suddenly decide to stop speaking or caring about one another. It was getting rather annoying at this point. Couldn't he just accept that he and Hermione didn't hate each other anymore?

"Sorry," Harry mumbled to him. "It's just hard to believe how fast we've all become friends."

"I know. But her and I talked about it this morning and we forgive each other. It's behind us." Ron began to add his crocodile scales to his potion, but quickly decided to recheck the steps. Thankfully, he discovered that he needed to let his potion sit for fifteen minutes before adding the scales. "That was close," he murmered.

"Yeah," Harry said distractedly. "What do you think she'll say about it?"

Ron didn't want to say, really. Chances were that Hermione was going to feel just as skeptical as Ron had upon first hearing Harry's theories. Though he believed him now, it had taken him a while to see the logic in Harry's assumptions. Hermione was likely to think similarly.

"I don't know, Harry," he whispered. "I mean, she might see the connection. It took me a while to really think the trapdoor and package were connected, though, so maybe not, you know?"

"I think she'll agree with me," Harry challenged. "I mean, there are just too many coincidences to ignore!"

"I know," Ron said. He suddenly felt oddly resentful toward Harry. It was almost as though Harry were calling Ron stupid. Hermione would be able to see the evidence clearly, because she was smart. Ron hadn't been able to see it at all, because he was dumb. Trying hard to remember Hermione's words to him that morning, Ron continued working in silence.

Or at least he tried to. "So, why do you think..." Harry indicated toward the front of the room, where Snape was trying to help Gregory Goyle clean up a spilled vial of turnip oil, "...you know...he was going up to the third floor? Do you think he was trying to get past the dog?"

Ron shrugged. "It's likely," he whispered back, his anger dissipating. "I mean, he's a slimy, evil sort of person, isn't he? Still...he could have been going up there to make sure the dog was alright or something."

"Why would he need to check to see if the dog was alright?"

"To make sure what it was guarding was still there," Ron said with another shrug.

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "We'll just have to ask Hermione what she thinks about that, too." Ron nodded in agreement. Hermione would, undoubtedly, be full of more answers than the two of them could come up with together, without her.

"Do you think-"

"Mr. Weasley!" Professor Snape snapped from across the room. "Is it possible for you to shut up for more than thirty seconds at a time?" Ron could feel his face get hot with embarrassment. He had tried to shut up earlier, but Harry had kept talking. Why was he getting in trouble for this? Harry had been certainly been talking more than he had !

"Yes, sir," he responded coldly.

"Then I suggest you do, unless you like being inattentive to your potions and getting the worst marks in the class. You make Mr. Longbottom look like a potions genius." The Slytherins laughed cruelly, but Ron and Neville both lost the ability to look up from the floor.

The rest of class, Ron was silent. Harry kept looking over curiously, as though hoping to be able to engage Ron in further conversation, but all attempts were futile. Ron was so angry at both Snape and Harry that he didn't dare say a word, even when Snape came up to inspect his cauldron and simply put a checkmark on his clipboard. Checkmarks meant passing grades. How in the name of Merlin do I get the worst marks in the class, when I always get checkmarks?! he thought, seething.

"Sorry," Harry apologized after class.

"Don't bother," Ron snarled.

"I didn't mean to get you in trouble like that."

"I know," Ron said, though he really didn't know. He just didn't feel like fighting with Harry. While it was easy to argue with Hermione, doing the same with Harry just felt wrong. It would be better just to ignore the anger and let it pass. After all, Harry was the sort of friend he didn't want to lose. Not only was he insanely famous (Ron really was lucky to have him in his life), but Ron didn't think he would ever be able to find another friend like him.

"Slow down, will you?" Hermione shouted from behind them. Ron and Harry both stopped walking; they had both forgotten to wait for her after class. Panting, she said, "Sorry about you getting in trouble, Ron."

"It wasn't your fault," Ron mumbled. Harry looked slightly ashamed.

"Yes, but it's not fun watching Snape be mean to anyone, let alone one of my friends."

"Yeah," was all Ron managed to utter. It was easy for Hermione to say. Snape rarely found anything to call Hermione out on. The only time she ever got in trouble was if she tried to give anyone advice.

"By the way, you're not the worst in the class," Hermione said.

"Yeah!" Harry quickly joined. "I know for a fact that Crabbe has to cheat in order to get through the class. He stands there and watches everything Malfoy does and copies it."

"And Pansy Parkinson has yet to finish making a potion in class," Hermione added. "I overheard Snape talking with her about it at the end of today's lesson."

"Really?" Ron asked them both. Harry and Hermione both nodded emphatically, and Ron instantly felt better. Snape was just picking on him, because of who he was and who he was friends with. It wasn't really because Ron was terrible at brewing potions. It was just because he was a foul, hateful man.

As they took their seats in the Great Hall for lunch, Harry turned to Hermione and suddenly said, "By the way, I was wondering if you'd like to come down and meet Hagrid with us today."

"Hagrid?" Hermione asked. "The Gamekeeper?"

"Oh yeah!" Ron exclaimed. "You'd love him. He's the sweetest guy in the world. Only don't eat anything he offers you."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll chip your teeth on them," Ron said as he pointed to one of his incisors, which was now missing a huge chunk due to a rather lumpy rock cake from the week previous.

"So is that where you guys go on Fridays then?" Hermione asked, sitting next to Harry across from Ron.

"Yep," Harry said. "He's really great. Helps us to get over our Snape stress." Hermione nodded as if this made perfect sense and began to fill her plate with fish and crisps. Ron looked over the food appraisingly; everything looked good. He was about to start making himself a ham sandwich, when an owl suddenly plopped down right in front of him.

"Mail?" Hermione asked. "In the middle of the day?"

"Oh no," Ron said with dismay. He knew what this meant. The owl in front of him was Hermes, Percy's owl. Apparently his letter had already been sent out and, very clearly, responded to. Except Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were not responding to their oldest son at Hogwarts; they were responding to their youngest.

"Who is it from?" Harry asked.

"My parents," Ron groaned. Both of his friend's jaws dropped. They were clearly shocked at how expeditiously his mum and dad had written to him.

"Well...better get it out of the way," Harry said darkly. Ron nodded, and opened the envelope. He was shocked to see not his mother's handwriting (she was, after all, the ultimate authority figure), but his dad's.

Dear Ron,

I told your mother that I would write to you instead of her, since I figured she would be too hard on you. Percy wrote us a letter last night (as I'm sure you're aware) telling us that you and Harry Potter went after a troll that had somehow gotten into the castle by yourself, even though you had been told to go back to your dormitory. I must say that your mother and I are disappointed. While we're not dumb enough to think that you always follow the rules, we would have thought that you would have realized that you should follow them when you know you're putting your life at stake by breaking them.

Percy also mentioned briefly that you managed to save a girl's life by knocking the troll out. He seemed really worried about you at this point, expressing a fear that your friendship with Harry is making you reckless. I disagree. I think it's great that you managed to save a life, Ron. I just really wish you would have exercised more caution. If anything like this happens again, please go to a professor or, at the very least, a Prefect. They will be able to ensure that your life isn't in danger. Your mother is very hurt right now. She's convinced that you nearly died. And while we can't be sure that's true, we both don't want you ending up hurt. We love you, Ron, and we're just worried about you.

Love,

Dad

P.S. Don't tell your mother this, but I couldn't help but brag about you knocking a troll out with its own club to Perkins this morning. I'm impressed, to say the least. Just, from now on, try to stay out of trouble.

P.P.S. Your brother Charlie has invited us all to Romania for Christmas. Your mother and I were wondering if you and your brothers want to come along? I can understand if you would rather spend Christmas at Hogwarts with Harry, but please let us know soon.

Ron gaped at the letter. Apart from the beginning, it seemed like his dad wasn't mad at him. Actually, in his first post script, he even talked about bragging to someone at work about him! For the most part, Ron felt positively giddy. Part of him was, of course, annoyed at Percy's fear of Harry being a bad influence on Ron. Still, this frustration was inconsequential; what really mattered was the fact that he wouldn't be in trouble when he next saw his parents. For a long time he couldn't tear his eyes from the parchment. It was all too good to be true.

"I borrowed it from the library recently, and I figured you should read it, since your first match is coming up," Hermione was saying to Harry, who was now pouring hungrily over Quidditch Through the Ages. Ron looked up from his letter and grinned as he watched Harry flip through the book. Suddenly everything seemed much brighter and happier than it had been a few moments ago.

"How was it?" Hermione asked.

"He's not mad," Ron said with a laugh. "I mean, he wants me to be careful and everything, but he's actually happy and proud of me!"

"That's great!" Harry exclaimed, looking up from his newly acquired book.

"I know. And he says that he, my Mum, and Ginny are going to visit Charlie in Romania and I can stay here over Christmas if I want to!" Ron grinned at Harry. He knew that his friend had been rather anxious at the prospect of being alone here at Hogwarts during the holidays. Though Ron wanted to see his family, he wanted to be there for Harry more. His mind had been instantly decided on staying.

"Excellent!" Harry exclaimed!

"Who's Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"My little sister," Ron now explained. Harry looked back down at his book. "She'll be going here next year."

"Oh...I didn't realize that there were that many of you."

"Actually, there's more," Ron said with a smirk. "Bill and Charlie are my oldest brothers. They've already gotten through Hogwarts, obviously."

"Wow," Hermione said, her eyes wide. "I wish I had just one brother or sister! You've got six!"

"I know," Ron replied with a heavy sigh. It wasn't that he didn't like having a big family; actually, he rather thought it helped him, since he hadn't had anything like school to go to and learn about how to act around people. Still, his large family was, in Ron's opinion, the root cause of all his insecurities. It was because he had so many extraordinary family members that Ron felt that he had to be the best at everything. Of course, he had slowly discovered this year that there was no way he was going to be the best all the time; Harry was a great flyer and Hermione was always the top of the class. But he always wanted to be the best of his family, because they were all so good at what they did. He felt overshadowed by them all and wanted to stand out in the crowd. He felt that at this point, he deserved it.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, frowning. Harry looked up from his book and frowned too.

"Oh, nothing," Ron said, hoping he sounded nonchalant. He didn't want Hermione knowing that it wasn't just her he had been jealous of this year. He really didn't desire it becoming common knowledge that envy was a deep-seated problem with him.

Hermione very clearly didn't like the way he was acting. Her eyebrows furrowed in anxiety and curiosity, as though if she squinted enough, she would be able to discern exactly what was bothering him. Ron decided to put on a perfectly pleasant façade to throw her off. After all, he should be happy right now; the letter was a relief, it was a surprisingly sunny day given that it was November, they were done with Potions for another week, and they were going to go out to Hagrid's. Why should he be disappointed when there was so much to be happy about?

"So, Harry, what do you reckon? Do you want me here for Christmas?" He knew his friend's answer, of course, but it was the best way to change the subject.

"Absolutely!" Harry said with a grin. "I wouldn't want it any other way. I really can't wait...I've never spent Christmas with people who actually care about me before." Now it was Harry's turn to get a sad look from Hermione. He had said the words so casually that Hermione actually looked alarmed, but Ron simply nodded. He reckoned he had heard everything there was to hear about the Dursleys now. How they made him sleep in a broom cupboard, how he was made to do chores while his fat cousin Dudley sat around eating ice cream and watching shows on the tellyvissin (that's what Ron thought it was called, at least), how his Uncle Vernon's sister Marge would come over and torture Harry with her nasty bull dogs, and how he was always told that his mum and dad had died in a car accident, when really they had been murdered by the darkest wizard of the modern age. Yes, Ron knew it all and it wasn't a shock for him to hear Harry say such things.

"What do you mean?" Hermione said, her voice wavering. Ron quickly looked over to her at the sound of it. Was she going to cry?

"My Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have always been a bit..." Harry looked like he was searching for the right words, but was unable to find them.

"Abusive, neglectful...downright malicious?" Ron supplied. "Take your pick."

"All three," Harry said with a nod.

"But...why?!" Hermione asked while putting a hand up to her mouth. Had Ron been sitting next to her, he would have felt compelled to wrap an arm around her to cheer her up. It was really nice that she was affected so by the sound of Harry's upbringing. It showed, in his opinion, what a good-hearted person she was. Briefly, he was reminded of what a jerk he had been to her for the past two months that he had known her until today. I'll never be mean to her ever again, he promised himself.

"They knew I was magical all along," Harry said, shrugging. "My Aunt Petunia is my Mum's sister. I suppose she thought that if she was nasty to me, she'd be able to squash the magic out of me or something. They don't like it. They say I'm a freak."

"But that's so stupid!" Hermione protested, outraged. "How could they be like that? I mean, you're a human being! How could they treat their own relative like that?!"

"Think of it this way, Hermione," Ron spoke up. "They're like Slytherins, but Muggles. They dislike what they see as impure. Harry has magic in his blood, and they hate it. Just like Slytherins don't like Muggle-borns, because they have Muggles in their family. It's stupid and it doesn't make sense, but it happens."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Hermione said, looking impressed at Ron's example. It made Ron feel good that Hermione clearly thought his illustration was a clever way to think on Harry's situation.

"I've never even looked at it that way before," Harry spoke up, his eyes wide. "Well, this just makes me hate both Slytherins and the Dursleys more. They're too much alike."

"Good!" Ron said with a grin. "Let's hate them together!"

"Oh, stop," Hermione muttered with a disapproving frown. "Not all Slytherins are bad."

"Clearly you haven't spent enough time with them," Ron replied.

"And you have?"

"Yes, I have. All of the Slytherins I've ever met are nasty gits."

"You've only ever met the ones in our Potions class!" Hermione argued. "They don't represent all Slytherins! They've just bought into the lie that they're better than other Houses! You'll see, the older we get the less they'll care about it all."

Harry snorted and mumbled under his breath, "That's not very likely." Hermione gave him a disapproving scowl too, but neither Harry nor Ron cared. They both knew they were right about this. Slytherins were simply evil, and nothing Hermione could say would prove otherwise to them.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight..." Hermione said as they trudged back up to the school after visiting Hagrid. "You think that the package in Gringotts that Hagrid removed was the one that was nearly stolen, because the Daily Prophet said that the vault that was broken into was one that had been emptied earlier that day?"

"Yes," Harry said excitedly. "And because Hagrid told me not to tell anyone about it, because it was top-secret."

"Well, it's good to see you've kept your promise," Hermione said with arched eyebrows. Ron snorted.

"I was going to keep my promise until I saw that clipping. So, I asked Hagrid about it and he acted all funny. Didn't he, Ron?"

"Yes," Ron agreed. "Very shifty." He surveyed Hermione thoughtfully, wondering briefly if she would be skeptical like he had been. Part of him really wanted her to be, especially given that Harry had acted like Hermione was bound to see the suspicions as reasonable, because she was smart.

"That does seem odd," Hermione conceded. Ron felt disappointed. "What was in the package? Could you tell?"

"No. It was wrapped up in brown paper and Hagrid wouldn't tell me. All I know is that it's very small."

"Hmm..." Hermione said. "So, I assume you're thinking this is what the three-headed dog on the third floor is guarding?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed with a nod. Ron once again felt oddly hopeful. Surely Hermione was smart enough to see flawed logic here.

"I think you're probably right," Hermione said. Ron instantly felt both very stupid and annoyed. Harry gave him a smug sort of smile that made him want to scowl, but somehow he fought it off. "I mean, Hagrid's so secretive about it, which means that it must be valuable somehow, which would also give someone a good reason to steal from the vault and for Professor Dumbledore to hide it. It think it all fits."

"I knew you would," Harry said, grinning in earnest. "Okay, now get this: Last night when we went looking for you, we saw Professor Snape running up the staircase on the first floor that usually leads up into the forbidden part of the third floor corridor."

"Okay..." Hermione said, looking perplexed. They reached the front door, and Ron pulled it open, allowing his two friends in before him.

"Don't you think that's fishy?" Harry asked.

"Wait...you're not suggesting that Professor Snape was going up to the third floor to get passed the dog, are you?" Harry nodded emphatically. "Harry, I know you dislike Professor Snape, but I don't think that's what he was doing."

"But why? It would fit, Hermione. He's evil!" When Hermione gave him a disbelieving look, Harry hastened to add, "Ron agrees, don't you?"

It made him nervous to be put on the spot like that, especially when he wasn't sure what he thought about Snape's involvement. "Er...I don't know," he said anxiously. "I mean, he's a right nasty bloke and everything, but like I said in Potions, he could have been up to something else, like checking to make sure that whatever is up there is safe."

"That's what you two were discussing in Potions?!" Hermione said in a raised voice. Harry quickly shushed her, but she brushed it aside. "Learn some tact, you two! What if he had heard what you were talking about?!"

"Nevermind that!" Harry growled irritably. "Just give me one good excuse for Snape running up those stairs, Hermione."

"I can give you several," Hermione said hotly. "Ron is right; he might have been going to make sure that the package was safe. Or he could have been checking to make sure the troll hadn't gotten lose in the upper floors of the castle, like it very clearly did. Or, since the staircases change and the professors have the ability to alter their paths, he could have been going to a different part of the castle altogether. I happen to know that that staircase also goes to the fourth floor, Harry. Snape could have been going up there to check to make sure there were no students in the library!"

"But that's absurd, Hermione!" Harry said. Hermione's jaw dropped as though she felt scandalized. A feeling of impending doom swept over Ron; was he really going to have to step in and stop a fight between these two already? They just became friends! "Everyone but you was at the feast!"

"How do you know for sure? Did you take a roll-call or something?"

"Guys, stop," Ron spoke up. He had a feeling that if he didn't step in, this was going to get ugly very fast. "There's no point in arguing. Harry, we don't know for sure what Snape was up to, okay? We can be suspicious, but let's not get carried away and automatically mark him down at guilty."

"Thank you, Ron," Hermione said, sticking her nose up in the air. Harry glared at Ron as if he had just committed the worst crime imaginable by siding with the girl.

"And Hermione, you have to admit that it was a little strange, especially since all the other professors went down to the dungeons. You may be right...it could be nothing. But don't write off Harry's suspicions like they don't mean anything. He's not stupid, you know." That did the trick. Harry looked relieved that Ron had found a way to make his point valid too. Hermione simply looked ashamed.

"Alright, fine," she said. "I'm not going to believe it until I see hard proof, though."

"Fine by me," Harry said.

"Okay," Ron quickly put in. He was feeling distinctly proud of himself for effectively playing the mediator between his friends during their argument. While he felt perfectly at ease with fighting with Hermione, he didn't think Harry could easily forget the argument like he could. For all Ron knew, Harry could possibly hold grudges. "Are we good now?"

"Yes," his friends said simultaneously.

"Good," Ron added, breathing a sigh of relief. Harry and Hermione were distinctly cold with each other all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, though, and it set Ron ill at ease. He really didn't like that he was already having to choose between them on something. It wasn't easy being neutral, especially since he really wanted Snape to be the bad guy in this scenario.

Things got better, though. That night, Harry didn't have Quidditch practice, so Ron, Harry, and Hermione all worked on their homework that was due on Monday. Though Ron really didn't understand the point of working on it so early (they still had three days!), he was willing to do anything to patch up the problems between Harry and Hermione.

Both boys quickly discovered that having Hermione Granger as a study partner was both a curse and a blessing. It was hard to work when she was breathing down their necks, telling them everything they should include in essays and correcting them bossily every time they got something wrong on the homework. But despite that, the way she so thoroughly checked their work instilled within both of them a sense of confidence. Chances were they would get excellent marks on their Defense Against the Dark Arts papers.

This assurance seemed to boost Harry's mood, which, in turn, made Hermione happier. By the end of the evening, they were all laughing and joking merrily again, as though no argument had ever happened. For Ron's part, he was quite certain that his insistence that they stop arguing had done the trick. If he would have just let them carry on, they may have never made up. And Ron simply couldn't have had that. He wasn't about to lose either of these people now that he had them.

* * *

To outsiders, the friendship between Harry and Hermione seemed natural. They never fought, at least not in public. They seemed to genuinely enjoy each other's company, they were kind to one another, and they appreciated what the other person had to say. Yes, it was clear to most people that they really did mesh well.

It was the relationship between Ron and Hermione that perplexed most people, especially the Gryffindors. They were around each other constantly, which should have indicated that they wished to be friends. But they certainly didn't act like it. All they ever seemed to do was row. Ron was constantly saying something sarcastic, and Hermione was always snapping back with an annoyed retort. The weird part was that it actually seemed like they liked it. They would somehow always end each fight with laughter and playful jokes, picking on one another cheerfully. It just didn't make sense.

Now they were at it again, and most of the Gryffindors chose to ignore it, having gotten used to it over the few days that the two had been inseparable.

"You should talk to Percy."

"I don't want to."

"Ron, it's been four days now! Don't you think you should do something about it? You're just making matters worse by putting it off!"

"Don't tell me how to live my life, Hermione."

"I'm not! I just hate seeing the two of you not talking!"

Ron rolled his eyes, looking up at her from his Astronomy essay about Mars. Harry was, once again, at Quidditch practice, and Ron and Hermione had decided to sit in the corner and work on their homework until he came back. It was a big mistake, since ever since they had started, Hermione had found something new to nag him about. Now she evidently wanted to discuss Percy and the letter, which Ron had ruefully let her read the previous day.

"You know, we really don't talk that often anyway," Ron said. "It's not a big deal that we're not speaking now, honestly. He'll get over it."

"It's not just that, Ron," Hermione argued with a sigh. "It's the whole thing with Harry that your dad wrote about! Do you really want Percy to think that Harry is a bad friend for you?"

"I really don't care what he thinks," Ron bit back. "He can like Harry or not. It doesn't matter."

"But it does!" Hermione retorted. "What if Percy convinces your parents that Harry is a bad influence?"

"They can't stop me from being friends with him."

"No, but they can stop you from staying here over Christmas break and they can also stop Harry from visiting in the summer." Ron gulped; only Hermione knew about Ron's plan to somehow get Harry away from the Dursleys when term ended. He had told her earlier in the day at lunch while Harry looked over Quidditch Through the Ages.

Ron shook his head stubbornly. "My parents wouldn't do that!"

"How do you know?" Hermione asked. The truth was, Ron didn't. The only friend he had ever had before now was Ginny, and it wasn't as if his parents could separate them for long periods of time like they could with Harry. Harry, after all, wasn't his brother, even if Ron wished he was.

"Fine!" Ron finally conceded. Getting up, he placed his half-finished essay on the table in front of them and pushed past Hermione. Percy was sitting across the room with a friend from his year (Ron didn't know his name). He saw Ron stand up, but other than briefly glancing at him, he didn't pay any notice to his younger brother.

"Excuse me?" Ron asked when he came up on them. "Can I speak to you, Percy?"

"Er...yes, I suppose so, Ron," his older brother replied. Percy's friend smirked, announced that he was going to the library, and left. As soon as he was gone, Percy adopted his snobbish, smug attitude and said, "What's this about? Have you come to apologize?"

"No," Ron answered through gritted teeth. "I don't think I need to."

"Well, until you realize that you were wrong, please don't talk to me."

Ron sighed. This was not going well. Desperately he looked back to Hermione, but she just gave him an encouraging look. He really wished she would have come over here with him. He had a feeling that Percy would have been more willing to listen if there were more witnesses. "Look, we really do need to talk, Percy. I need to explain why I didn't go to you."

"This ought to be brilliant," Percy snapped. Ron clenched his fists, but didn't hit his brother like he wanted to. Instead, he plopped down in a chair across from him.

"The reason I didn't go to you is because Hermione was in the bathroom because of me. I felt like it was my responsibility to get her. I didn't think we'd come across the troll or anything. It just happened. We really just wanted to warn her and quickly head to the common room. But, as you know, the troll somehow got up to the first floor and attacked Hermione in the bathroom. We didn't have time to go find an adult or a Prefect." Ron tried to explain it practically, but part of him felt that Percy simply wouldn't understand. He never acted according to his heart like Ron had. He just wouldn't get why Ron would feel going after Hermione was his responsibility.

But he surprised Ron. "What did you do to make her be in the bathroom?" That was the last question Ron expected and for a minute, he couldn't quite find the answer in his mind, though it was certainly a memory he knew he'd never forget.

"I was mean to her in Charms. She corrected me and I got annoyed so I made fun of her," Ron said.

"That's very stupid of you, Ron. She was just trying to help."

"I know that!" Ron snapped. "Why the bloody hell do you think we're friends now?"

"So, you're friends with her, because you feel bad?"

"No! I'm friends with her because I realized she's a good person, you prat!"

"Hey, don't call me names, I'm just trying to point out the error of your ways," Percy said with his nose in the air. It infuriated Ron that he was talking to him like this. After all, Percy couldn't see his own faults at all. It was apparently easy for him to criticize other people, but when it came to himself, there was absolutely nothing to condemn.

"Yeah, well, maybe I should point out the error of your ways," Ron spat back. Percy looked bewildered, clearly unable to figure out where all this hostile energy from Ron was coming from. Ron decided to clarify. "You know, I would have thought that with all your accomplishments, you wouldn't feel jealous over your youngest brother for something like this!"

"I'm not jealous!" Percy whispered, his jaw set.

"Yes you are," Ron argued.

"And why exactly do you think that?"

"Because I've been jealous of all of you guys for eleven years now and I can spot it when I see it," Ron quickly said. Percy looked completely surprised by this news. He supposedly had never suspected a thing, though Ron figured that this was because he had been so absorbed with himself for his entire life that Ron's feelings simply did not matter.

"But why?" Percy finally managed to utter.

"Because you guys are all brilliant and I'm just me," Ron mumbled.

"But you're brilliant too!" Percy insisted. It was odd to hear him try to boost somebody else's confidence for once and it was, in a weird sort of way, reassuring at the same time. To know that he could put aside his own ego for a second and attempt to make someone else feel good about themselves showed that Percy had the capacity to be just as kind and caring as the rest of the Weasleys. "I mean, you...you knocked a troll out with its own club!" There was an envious sort of light in his eyes that Ron instantly recognized. Percy seemed to realize it too; his jaw suddenly dropped and he looked horrified. "Oh Merlin...I am jealous of you."

"I know," Ron said.

"But...I didn't even realize. I mean, Fred and George said I was, but I figured that they were just trying to insult me. But, I mean...I did want to be the one to catch the troll."

"I know," Ron said again.

"I was kind of...fantasizing about it as I lead the Gryffindors up to the Tower," Percy opened up. "And then when we got back, I realized you weren't there and I got scared. I was afraid that not only had I failed with my Prefect duties, but also that something bad had happened to you. I would have never been able to forgive myself if you would have died, Ron."

"Really?" Ron had known, of course, that Percy had been jealous, but worried was a new concept altogether. It had never occurred to him that Percy was partially angry with him, because he could have died.

"Of course!" Percy said, looking dignified. "Don't listen to Fred and George, Ron. I'm not heartless like they say."

"I know that..." Ron muttered awkwardly. He had never had a conversation with Percy like this before. Anytime he talked to Percy, it was usually about academics; life at Hogwarts, classes, plans, goals, books, and homework. But now, they were having a real chat about brotherly things.

"I thought that I would have been able to handle the troll better, because I'm older," Percy admitted. "That's partially why I was mad the other night. Because I felt like you had intentionally thrown yourself in harm's way when you really didn't know how to handle the situation."

"But it wasn't intentional! I told you, we just wanted to get Hermione to go back to the common room with us!"

"Yes, I know that now, Ron. I thought at the time that you and Harry were just being reckless, though. I didn't know how important Hermione was to you."

"It's not that she was important to us," Ron said, feeling slightly embarrassed. At the time, he had rather hated Hermione, actually. "It's just something that I would have expected anyone else to do. We knew where she was and we didn't want her to be in danger."

"Yes," Percy said. There was a moment of silence between them. Ron didn't know for sure, but something told him that the fight was nearly resolved. It had been a rather quiet discussion when compared to the other rows he'd had with Percy in the past. It was more like a mature discussion about one instance with different points of view. It was with a weird sort of embarrassment that Ron silently reflected on their fight during the summer; it seemed so stupid and trivial now and probably could have been handled just as easily as this one had.

"You know, Ron," Percy suddenly said, interrupting Ron's train of thought. "I'm very proud of you...yes, I can say that now. I was upset on Thursday, but now...now that I realize that jealousy was part of the problem...I think you did well. I'm sorry I wrote to Mum and Dad."

Ron shrugged. "It's not a big deal. They're not that upset. I mean, Dad says Mum is, but he's proud of me."

"Yep, that sounds just about right," Percy said with a laugh. It was such a foreign noise, even to Ron, that it took the boy a few minutes to process what was happening. Percy was laughing? How was that even possible? Ron smiled uncomfortably back at him.

"Well, I better get back to studying," Ron said, pointing over his shoulder.

"Sure," Percy said with a nod.

Ron was about to bolt away as fast as possible, when he remembered something. Turning back, he looked at Percy and said, "Oh by the way, Mum, Dad, and Ginny are going to Romania for Christmas to visit Charlie. They said that if you, Fred, and George want to stay here, you should write and tell them."

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"I'm staying here with Harry," Ron said. It occurred to him as he said it that Percy would probably disapprove of Ron's decision. After all, Harry was a bad influence on Ron.

"I think I'll stay here too," Percy said. "I've always wanted to get to know Harry better."

Bewildered, Ron walked back to his seat, where Hermione sat grinning widely. Did this mean that Percy now approved of Harry? Or was he just trying to be a protective older brother?

"How did it go?" Hermione asked brightly as Ron took his seat next to her.

"I think it went well," Ron replied. "That guy is really hard to figure out sometimes."

"Like how?"

"Well, he admits to being jealous, but then also says that he was mainly mad, because he was worried that I could have died. He tells my Mum and Dad that Harry's a bad influence on me, but then tells me that he wants to stay over for Christmas so he can get to know him. And he laughed Hermione...it was scary."

"What's the big deal with him laughing?"

"Percy never laughs! He's serious and too hard working to have fun. I just don't get him!"

Hermione stared at him for a moment, as if trying to think of the right words, and finally decided on saying, "It must run in the family."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

"Well, you weren't exactly the easiest person to figure out. I mean, first you acted like you hated me, then you acted like you liked me, then you acted like you hated me again, and now we're friends," Hermione explained. "It was all very confusing. I didn't know which Ron to expect on any given day."

"It was the same with you," Ron said, slightly offended. "I mean, one day I'd get a happy, smiling Hermione talking to me in the library, and the next you were being bossy and annoying in class. I didn't know whether to expect you to be sweet or frustrating."

"I'm not bossy!" Hermione suddenly snapped at him.

"You are too," Ron said. "Don't worry, I've gotten used to it."

"Ron! I am not bossy! I'm just helpful!"

"You call telling me how to write my own papers and cutting into my work in class to tell me how I'm doing the spell wrong helpful?"

"Yes!"

"Well, I call it bossy!"

Gryffindors all around the common room sighed in annoyance. Would it ever be possible for those two "friends" to get along? Or would their rows become something they'd just have to put up with? If they fought so much, why were they even friends?

"You're so annoying," Hermione sniffed in annoyance.

"Yeah, but you like it," Ron said back with a smirk.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"How do you know?"

Ron smiled widely. "Because if you genuinely hated me and thought I was annoying, you wouldn't spend all your free time with me."

Hermione didn't say anything for a minute, and Ron knew that he had outsmarted her. Sighing Hermione finally said, "Yes, I suppose you're right. You may be a prat, but you're my best friend and I like you for it."

Ron glowed with pride. Not only had he just won the argument, but he had also been told something else. He was Hermione's best friend. Though he had always thought of Harry as his best friend at Hogwarts, he knew that the same was true for her. Harry and Hermione were both equally his best friends. "Same here," he responded.