Hey Jealousy

Chapter 2: The Argument

Harry returned from the library that night to discover that the Gryffindor common room had turned into a battlefield. Ron and Hermione were having a row that Harry was sure broke all previous records for volume, if not hostility.

"Honestly, Ron! Don't you care about Harry at all?"

"Hermione, I told you, she's not a bloody Death Eater!"

"How do you know that, Ron? We don't have any evidence to the contrary, and in times like these, it's better to be careful. For all we know, this could just be a clever rouse to get you alone with her!"

"I certainly hope so!"

At this, Hermione looked too indignant to speak.

"Look, if Natalie really wanted to get to Harry, why didn't she go after him, then? You saw her, she paid no attention to him!"

Harry fought the urge to correct Ron's rather smug statement. She had said hello to him, after all.

Hermione rolled her eyes as if the answer to Ron's question was painfully obvious. "Because, she knows Harry's cautious enough not to be manipulated into spending time alone with her!"

Ron's rage flared. "Really?" It came out more as a statement than a question. "From what I saw, Harry would have been just as willing to be alone with her as I am. Isn't that right Harry?" Ron said his name with a touch of bitterness.

Harry felt his stomach drop to his feet. "Uh, oh," he thought. He was sure they had been so involved in their argument that they hadn't noticed his entrance. He looked at his two best friends, each one clearly daring him to disagree with them. Opening his mouth to speak, he stammered, "Uh, well I...she's...I mean..." Finally, lowering his gaze to the floor, he mumbled, "I'm going to bed," and dashed past his two friends towards the dormitory. He couldn't get to sleep, however, for another half-hour, as he could still hear his friends' muffled shouts from the common room. Just when he thought the pair couldn't get any louder, there was a moment of very audible silence, then the sound of the fifth year boys' dormitory door slamming.

Harry pretended to be asleep as Ron stalked over to his four-poster, mumbled something about "insufferable," and flopped onto his bed. After a moment, Harry heard him mutter, "Lumos," and open the drawer next to the bed. Harry cracked one eye open to see what he was up to. Out of the drawer, Ron took out a book, some parchment, and a quill. When Harry saw what he did next, he had to roll over so his best friend couldn't see the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. Ron, by the dim light of his wand, was doing his divination homework.

***

Think I should continue? Stop before I butcher the characterizations? Let me know!

Chapter 3: The Date

Harry silently wondered if his day could get any worse. Classes had been awful. Ron and Hermione had barely spoken a word to each other all day, and when they spoke to Harry, it was usually just another way to trade barbs.

"So, Harry, I did my divination homework last night. Have to be prepared for today, you know."

"Harry, did you hear about the Death Eaters spotted in Diagon Alley? It just goes to show, you can't be too careful with You-Know-Who on the loose."

Harry was getting bloody sick of it.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Hermione had cornered him after lunch and talked him into accompanying her in the library after class, so they could keep an eye on Ron and Natalie, "for his own good."

So, here he was, in the library, when he would rather be cleaning Snape's toilet with a toothbrush than spying on his best friend. He watched through the book stacks as, for the twelfth time, Natalie giggled at something Ron had said, while Hermione, for the twelfth time, scowled at them both. "Honestly! What could he be saying that is so hilarious? Ron isn't that funny!"

Harry sighed glumly in response.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped, eyes wide. "What if he's telling her things about you?"

Although this thought clearly terrified Hermione, it worried Harry too, but for different reasons. He scrunched his eyebrows in concern. "W-what do you suppose he could be telling her?"

"You know, things that are secret, that she could take back to her Death Eaters meetings!"

Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Hermione, I don't have any secrets."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? What about Snuffles?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, it hardly looks like they're talking about Snuffles now, doesn't it?" Harry watched as Natalie inched closer to Ron until their shoulders were touching, then gave another short giggle.

"Nevertheless, Harry, we have to make sure," she said pompously. "Go over there and find out what they're talking about."

Now it was Harry's turn to look terrified. "Me? Why?"

Hermione shot him a look that said, "Are you mental? We're not speaking to each other!"

Harry ran a sweaty hand through his messy black hair. "But Herm-"

Unfortunately, Hermione's expression allowed no argument. So, pushing his glasses up his nose and mustering his Gryffindor courage, Harry rounded the stacks and headed towards the table. As he approached, he heard Ron saying, "Really, she's such a bloody know-it-all! Always bossing people around and acting like she's so much smarter than everybody else. Which, well, she is, but you should hear her!" Ron hitched his voice up an octave. "I'd really like to read Hogwarts, A History for the 74th time this month, but I just don't have time, what with my plans for getting more O.W.L.s than everyone in Hogwarts combined, and my work for spew just takes-"

"Hello, Ron," Harry said rather sternly. Even if they were fighting, and even if Ron's impression of Hermione had been frighteningly accurate, that was still no way to talk about her behind her back.

"Oh, hello Harry!" Natalie stopped giggling and beamed up at him, and Harry noticed he had perfectly straight, white teeth.

Ron, however, was less pleased by the interruption. Raising both eyebrows, he asked, "Did you want something, Harry?"

Becoming conscious that he was involved in a close inspection of Natalie's teeth, Harry managed to thrust himself back into reality. A reality, he soon recognized, in which he didn't even have the faintest hint of a plan. "Er, well..."

"Oh!" Natalie's chirpy voice piped up. "Is it time for Quidditch practice already?"

With a stealthy glance at his watch, Harry realized they only had 10 minutes to make it to the Quidditch Pitch. (Ron had joined the team as the new Gryffindor Keeper. Needless to say, his twin brothers sent an unnecessarily high number of bludgers his way during practice.) "Yeah. Um, we'd better hurry, Ron," Harry answered.

Ron finally noticed the time, and jumped from his seat as if it had burned him. "I nearly forgot! Angelina's gonna kill us if we're late!"

Mildly panicked, Ron started to dash off, but Natalie managed to grab the edge of his sleeve. "Ron! Erm, I've never been to a Quidditch practice before. Would you mind...could I come watch?" She bit her lip nervously, and Harry became oddly transfixed.

Ron's face lit up in a crooked smile, and he shrugged lightly. "Sure, I guess."

After a moment of the two smiling at each other, Harry rolled his eyes dramatically and dragged Ron away by the back of his robes. As they exited the library with Harry still pulling him along, Ron called over his shoulder, "See you at the pitch, then!"

Once they were in the hall, Harry shoved Ron ahead of him, perhaps a little harder than he really meant to. "Ow! What was that for?!" Ron asked testily, readjusting his mangled robes.

Harry shot him a look that clearly said, "Are you daft?" When he spoke, his tone was more irritated than he intended for it to sound. "Hermione's supposed to watch us practice today! She promised you, remember? How do you think she'll feel if-"

"Why should I care? She's your friend, not mine." As the statement hung between them, Harry felt the air grow thick with silence. Without another word, Ron turned and started walking in the direction of the changing rooms, his back to his friend. Harry recovered from his momentary stupor and followed after him, but by the time they'd reached the pitch, the sick feeling in Harry's stomach had solidified. His two best friends had been fighting and making up for so long he had taken for granted that they always would. No matter what came between them, Harry had always imagined them as inseparable. But the way Ron had said that Hermione wasn't his friend, with such finality, had scared him.

What if they didn't recover from this one?

And what if he had to choose between them?

Clutching his Firebolt, Harry joined the team on the field. He saw the twins standing next to Ron and whispering something to him, which made him blush slightly. Ron beamed up at where they were pointing. Natalie was up in the stands, her curls bouncing as she waved energetically at Ron. Hermione was sitting next to her, looking rather sullen. Harry gave a resolute sigh before kicking off the ground. He did a few practice laps on his Firebolt to clear his thoughts.

Harry refused to be forced to make this decision. He simply wasn't going to let that happen, not if he could do something about it.

***