Sometimes Your Friends Are Just Dense

"Hey Harry, where's Hermione?" Ron asked as he sat down at the Gryfindor table.

"I saw her walk out towards the front."

"Come on then. Let's see what she's up to."

Outside they saw Hermione sitting on the steps deep in conversation with Hagrid. As they approached they could hear what was being said.

"Oh Hagrid, I just don't know what to do. Ron doesn't even seem to realize that I'm a girl. I'm just his friend Hermione."

"Now there, s' okay. Some boys just grow up a li'l slower than others. One o' these days he'll look over at yeh and realize that yer all grown up and downright pretty. Yeh just 'ave ter be patient with boys."

"But Hagrid, he notices other girls. He's always going on and on about them."

Behind them they heard the soft sinister voice of Professor Snape. "What have we here? A couple of boys spying on their friend?"

Hermione whirled around to see Harry and Ron standing there looking pale and guilty. "Oh!" she cried, turned scarlet, burst into tears and ran down the steps and off around the school.

"Hermione, wait!" yelled Ron as he took off after her. Hagrid reached out and grabbed Harry by the shoulder before he could follow. "Best we let the two o' them work this one out Harry."

Snape snickered and turned on his heel to go back inside.

As Hagrid walked slowly back to his hut, Harry followed after his best friends at a walk. Hermione was right. Ron was just bloody dense. Harry had noticed that she was a girl. He had also noticed that she really liked Ron. He thought Ron liked her too but was just too thick to understand it.

He rounded the corner and there they were. Hermione was giving Ron a hell of a tongue lashing. He stopped just around the corner.

"How dare you spy on me! You had no right!" Hermione was all but screaming.

"But Hermio..."

"Don't talk to me! You think you're so smart being sneaky all the time."

"But I wasn't..."

"All you ever think about is yourself, and Quidditch and getting away with things."

"But Herm..."

"You go on and on about Fluer and Rosemerta and all those other girls and do you ever stop to think that maybe I don't want to hear about all the girls you think are attractive? Do you? No."

Ron opened his mouth and then just gave up. Nothing was going to stop her now. He could feel himself going into a stupor. He could hear her going on but he wasn't paying any attention to her words anymore. He was thinking about what she had said before. Had he really not noticed that she was growing up quite nicely? Why hadn't he paid attention before? She really was quite pretty. And she's wicked smart. All those hours in the library with her and sitting in the common room studying and making plans together. She really was brilliant. Then he thought, "She's wrong. I've known all along how wonderful she is. I've always admired her. It just never occurred to me that she would care if I knew."

He came out of his thoughts to see that the tears were rolling down her face that was still flushed with embarrassment. She was still fuming and giving him what for.

Suddenly he said "Shut up."

"What?! How dare ..."

For once Ron kept HER from finishing a sentence. He reached up and held her face and kissed her hard on the mouth. Hermione just stood there blinking, stunned. She opened her mouth to speak and he kissed her again.

Behind them, Harry smiled and thought "Well that's not a bad strategy." Then he turned away and watched around the corner for anyone who might disturb his best friends while they came to terms with this new turn of events.