Surrender

Ginny climbed through the portrait hole, just in time to catch another row between her brother, Ron and Hermione. This time it was apparently about studying, or rather, her brother's lack thereof.

"Ron, how can you expect to pass your NEWTs if you never study?" Hermione was saying crossly from where she sat behind a mound of books.

Ginny sighed to herself and leant against the wall near the portrait hole to watch. The common room was fairly empty, with many of the students having gone home for the Christmas holidays. Even so, Ron and Hermione rowed so often that nobody bothered to look up from their own idle pursuits to watch, unless the row was a particularly spectacular one. Ginny saw Harry sitting in one of the armchairs near the fireplace with a bemused expression on his face as he tried to read a book on Quidditch plays. She caught Harry's eye and smiled, rolling her eyes at the other two.

"First of all, I do study. Just because I'm not obsessed with schoolwork like you doesn't mean I'm going to fail my NEWTs. Besides, I got seven OWLs last year. " Ron didn't bother looking up from the Exploding Snap card tower he was building. The entire structure was quivering and starting to smoke at the edges and was sure to blow up any minute.

"I am not obsessed with schoolwork," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Secondly, we don't even take the NEWTs until next year. And besides that, you do enough for the both of us."

Hermione glared at him and watched him with his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in an idiotic, yet adorable way as he positioned more Exploding Snap cards onto the now violently shaking tower.

"What are you going to do then, when the NEWTs come around, and you don't know anything? Eighteen months will go by really quickly, and you aren't going to be able to just bull your way through them, like you and Harry did Divination...even though it was a load of rubbish," she muttered.

Ron's cards disintegrated in a ball of flames, singeing his eyebrows. His distraction now gone, he committed himself to the argument. The banter continued back and forth for a good ten minutes before Hermione threw her hands up in frustration.

"Fine! If you want to ruin your future that's just fine with me! I wash my hands of it!" And with that, she snapped her books closed and stormed out through the portrait hole

Ron collapsed on the couch by the fire, near where Harry was sitting and ran his fingers through his red hair. He had always been tall and lanky, but since becoming the Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, his shoulders had broadened, new muscles filled out his frame well and overall he was quite handsome.

Even if he is my prat-of-a-brother, Ginny thought to herself.

Ron's enhanced appearance

Eon

had not gone unnoticed by the female population of the school. However, everyone also knew that he and Hermione would one day realise their feelings for one another. It was really only a matter of time.

Harry too had not been ignored for his looks, and although not as tall as Ron, he was lean and toned from playing Quidditch from first year onwards. If possible, his emerald eyes had become greener, and his messy black hair more unruly. It was little wonder that Ginny had fallen for him, and she wasn't the only one.

Done with her mental evaluation of her brother and his best friend, Ginny walked over to the couch were they were sitting. Reaching out, she firmly smacked Ron around the head.

"Oi! Ginny!" Ron yelled, turning in his seat. "What was that for?"

"That was for upsetting Hermione yet again. Can't you find a more pleasant way of showing you love her? Flowers are much more traditional, and they smell good too." Ginny waggled her eyebrows, taunting her brother as he spluttered his denial.

"I don't love Hermione! She's my best friend."

"Then how do you explain that you've remained 'best friends' for five and a half years, yet have a fight every other week?" Ginny asked. Leaving Ron to think about that, Ginny exited the common room. She had a fairly good idea of where she would be able to find Hermione. .

Ginny entered the library and started walking up and down the aisles, looking for a familiar bushy-haired figure. She found Hermione hunched over a piece of parchment, her quill poised over the page but she hadn't written a word and the ink had dried on the tip. Hermione must have heard her coming, because without turning around she sighed deeply.

"Go away, Ron."

Ginny sat down next to her. "Close. Wrong Weasley though."

"Oh, hey Ginny," Hermione looked up from the book she was reading.

"Want to talk about it?" Ginny offered.

"Not especially," she smiled ruefully. "What did Professor McGonagall want to see you about?" she asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Oh, nothing much," Ginny replied flippantly. "Except I might be allowed to skip sixth year and go into seventh with you lot next year," she added, her grin widening at Hermione's gasp.

"Ginny, that's wonderful!" Hermione hugged her tightly. The pair had become close friends as neither could really relate to the other girls in their respective years.

"It's still an 'if'. But, I did hear something interesting while I was there," Ginny replied, when the older girl had released her. "Hermione, why didn't you take the TOADs?"

Hermione looked at Ginny sharply. "Who told you that?"

"McGonagall said it was someone in Gryffindor. You're the only one I know that would be smart enough."

"I did take them."

"Oh...didn't you pass them then?" Ginny's smile faded. If Hermione hadn't passed them, what chance do I have?

"Yes, I did. I just didn't go up the year." Hermione said, not quite meeting Ginny's eye.

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't want to, that's all."

"Hermione, surely you can come up with a better answer than that,"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hermione picked up one of the spell books spread across the table and started flicking through it distractedly. She clearly wasn't really reading it, as Ginny could see it was actually upside down.

Understanding dawned on Ginny. She touched Hermione's shoulder. "Was it because of Ron?"

Hermione still refused to meet Ginny's gaze.

"You stayed back, when you could have skipped an entire school year, because you wanted to stay with Ron?" Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Hermione glanced around, as if looking for an escape route, before crumbling.

"ALRIGHT! I confess! I love your git-of-a-brother. I, Hermione Granger, love Ronald Weasley, and have done so since first year...I just didn't realise it at the time. There, I've admitted it."

Ginny grinned broadly. "I knew it!" she crowed.

"You knew? How?"

"Hermione, it's not half obvious. I've seen how he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. I've noticed how you hold your breath when he sits close to you. Heck, I saw your toes curl when he kissed you under the mistletoe, on the cheek, the other day."

Hermione blushed and looked down at her bare feet, in surprise. "How many people know this?" she asked quietly.

"Well, if you count all of the people in the common room and all of the people in their dormitories and about half of the rest of the school, then subtract Ron, you'd be getting pretty close."

"Oh." Hermione sat there, taking all of this information in, while Ginny sat beside her practically bouncing with glee. Neither noticed the red-headed boy slowly retreating around the corner of the bookshelves.