Jigsaw Puzzle

Ron stood staring at the door for several minutes. It took a while for his brain to register what had happened-that Hermione Granger had just kissed him.

"It's not like it meant anything," Ron told himself. "It was just a friendly kiss. That's all."

"Even if it was just friendly, you didn't mind it, did you? You liked it, didn't you?" said the little voice inside of Ron.

"No! Well...maybe...just a little...but this is Hermione..." He didn't want to think anymore. He was just going around in circles. "I guess I'll go appoligize to Krum," he thought, opening his door and walking downstairs.

Ron walked into the living room. He saw Hermione sitting by the fireplace, and she looked towards him when he entered, but he didn't look her in the eyes. "I think I'll...apologize now," he mumbled, feeling his ears turn slightly red.

Hermione nodded. "He's outside with Harry and Fred and George," she said simply. She didn't meet his eyes either, and the part of her face Ron could see was tinged pink.

"Right," said Ron quickly, still mumbling, and went outside. He didn't se anyone. "I guess they went to that little field to play Quidditch," he thought, walking there. Sure enough, there they were, Krum and Harry with their Firebolts and Fred and George with their Cleansweeps. Harry was attempting a Wronskei Feint with the others watching him. He flew down in a spectacular dive, though didn't quite come out of it fast enough. Luckily, Fred and George had thought of putting a mattress on the ground, or he would have been seriously hurt.

"Your dive vas very good. You just need to work on pulling out of it at the right time," said Krum. "Next time you should..."

Not wishing to interrupt, Ron stood and watched as Krum told Harry the specifics that he needed to work on. He then walked up to him when he was finished.

"Hey, Ron," said Harry cheerfully. "You want to play some Quidditch with us?"

"No, thanks," said Ron. "I just wanted to talk to Krum for a minute..."

"What about?" asked Fred.

"It's really none of your business," Ron replied.

"Vell...I don't mind," said Krum. He looked towards Harry. "You don't, do you?"

"No, That's all right," Harry replied.

Krum and Ron walked away from the group. Krum then watched Ron, waiting for him to speak. Ron wasn't quite sure how to begin. "Well...I...I just wanted to apologize," he finally said. "It was very rude of me to avoid you like I've been doing. It was just...a misunderstanding. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course," said Krum. "Don't vorry about it." He held out his hand, and Ron shook it. "So...Vould you care to join us?" Krum asked.

"No, That's all right. You can get back to helping Harry with his Wronskei Feint."

Krum nodded, heading back towards the field, while Ron went back towards the house. Though he was on speaking terms with Krum now, he still didn't like him very much.

Ron went back to the living room to find Hermione still there, reading a book. Mr. Weasley was at work, Mrs. Weasley had gone to visit a friend of hers, and Percy was up in his room and didn't want to be bothered. Ron supposed he was still very upset about Mr. Crouch's death. He had been up in his room a lot. Ron and Hermione were alone in the room. A bit nervous, Ron wondered if he should have stayed outside. "I...apologized to him," he informed Hermione.

"Good," Hermione said simply.

"What are you reading?" Ron questioned.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," Hermione replied. "It was written by a Muggle, so of course the concepts of wizards and such aren't true, but it's a wonderful fantasy epic, in which-"

"Your read fiction, Hermione?" Ron interrupted.

"Sure. Now and then. Of course it's all nonsense, so I don't learn things from it really, but it can be quite fascinating..."

"Even upside-down?" Ron grinned.

"Well...er...yes. Yes, Sometimes I like to read books upside-down," Hermione stammered, quickly turning the book around and turning rather red.

Ron tried several times to start a conversation, but that was rather hard to do with a person who wouldn't look at you. He eventually gave it up, and was rather relieved when Harry came back inside, challenging him to a game of chess.

"Something wrong, Ron?" Harry asked.

"No, Not at all. What's weird about wanting to play chess?" Ron responded.

"Nothing," said Harry. "It's just that you look a little...Never mind. Let's play. I know I'll lose miserably, but it'll be fun anyway."

To Harry's great surprise, he did not lose miserably. He won, in fact. He had never won a game of chess before, especially not against Ron.

"What's the matter with you, Ron? How could you have let that happen?" said Harry, looking a bit concerned.

"I dunno. I guess I just wasn't concentrating," Ron replied.

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes!" Ron snapped. "I'm fine! Because I lost doesn't mean I've become terminally ill or something, okay?"

"Sorry," Harry said quickly, knowing better than to continue questioning. "How about a rematch?"

"No, thanks. Maybe later," Ron answered. He went to bed that night with his head still spinning with the same unanswerable questions.