Seven Days

DAY THREE, PART ONE

The dresser was extremely small and unbalanced, as the legs it stood on were different sizes. It also had two drawers, and Hermione and Ginny both had to share the drawers. Now, to add on to that, Hermione's drawer was stuck. She had gotten down on her knees and pulled on the drawer handle with all her might, her arms aching...and then she had yanked at the handle so hard that it had come off in her hands.

Hermione now sat, startled, on the splintered floor of Cabin #5 dressed in her pajamas, staring at the handle in her hands. The morning so far was not off to a good start, which, seeing as how the week had been so far, was not welcome at all. "Just lovely," Hermione muttered to herself. She set the handle on the floor and walked on her knees back over to the dresser, and tried to pry open the drawer with her fingers, but it was no luck.

"Come on!" she said loudly, trying to get a good grip on the top of the drawer. A few seconds later, she drew back her hand and promptly stuck her finger in her mouth.

"What are you doing?" mumbled a sleepy voice. Hermione turned to see a mop of lime green hair polka dotted with purple emerge from underneath a pile of blankets in the bed next to her.

Hermione pulled her finger from her mouth. "I got a splinter," she said flatly. "It hurts."

"Mmm," replied Ginny, sitting up in bed with great effort.

Hermione examined the splinter in her finger and said to Ginny, "Is there a pair of tweezers in my bag?" Ginny hobbled out of her cot over to Hermione's and started shuffling through her red travel bag. Ginny withdrew a pair of eyebrow tweezers and looked at them with what Hermione thought was a suspicious glance, then tossed them across the room.

Hermione set to work on her finger while Ginny walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer with no problem. "Ginny, my drawer won't open," Hermione said as she proudly removed the splinter from her finger. "Do you have an outfit I can borrow until someone else can fix it?"

"Yeah, just pick something," said Ginny, selecting for herself a green jumper and corduroy pants. Hermione reached in and grabbed the first thing she saw--a pair of jeans and a black jumper. Ginny's clothes were a little tight on Hermione, but she didn't say anything. The girls dressed in silence, then made their way out of the cabin.

The only people outside were Mrs. Weasley and Anna. Hermione groaned at the sight of Anna, but Ginny gripped her momentarily by the elbow, leading her forward, until Hermione shrugged her off. "Good morning!" said Anna cheerfully as they approached.

Hermione wondered how anyone could be so cheerful when it was this cold outside. There was about a foot of snow covering the ground, and snow was still falling. She shivered.

"Good morning," said Ginny. She turned to her mum. "What activities are we doing today?"

"We'll have breakfast, then go to the little shopping mall..."

"It's not really a shopping mall though, only two or three stores, really," Anna added, pulling her sky blue hat around her ears.

"...in case anyone still needs to go Christmas shopping, and then after that we'll have lunch, I suppose, and I don't know what after that."

"Ice skating!" said Anna, and her face glowed. "There's such a cute little lake on the town, and it's frozen over now."

"We don't have skates," said Hermione.

"Oh, well that's okay, because dad needs a new pair as well. Mum and I already have ours, but I brought an extra pair. They might fit you, though. They definitely don't fit dad. Let's go try them on, shall we?"

Hermione was about to protest, but Anna had already dashed into Cabin #1 and was motioning for Hermione to follow her. She did, grudgingly. Cinnamon reached her nostrils as she stepped inside. Bridgett was still in her robe, brushing her teeth. Bob was struggling to put on a pair of socks, that had goldfish on them. "Hello, Helen," said Bob. Hermione opened her mouth to correct him, but Anna opened behind the door to the cabin, and handed Hermione a pair of white ice skates.

Hermione held the skates awkwardly for a few seconds before plopping herself down on the floor and sliding off her snow boots. When she put on the skates, she was surprised to find that they were a perfect fit. "Wow," she said.

"Excellent," said Anna, smiling. Hermione took off the skates and smiled back at Anna, then scolded herself. Anna was nothing more than a spoiled brat, who liked to steal other people's boyfriends. Boyfriend? Thought Hermione. Er...Ron is not your boyfriend. Stop mixing fantasy with fact.

Hermione and Anna walked out of the cabin, Bob humming a Beatles' tune under his breath. Ron, Fred, and George were already outside, joking and talking loudly. George was laughing so hard he was clutching Fred for support. Ron's face was red, and he rapped on the door of the cabin, saying hoarsely, "Harry...come out...didn't mean it..." then he bent over and kept on laughing.

Ginny was looking murderous. "What did you do?!" she yelled at them.

All three turned toward her, exchanged looks, and burst out laughing again. Ginny's hands went immediately to the pocket of her coat; as though groping for her wand to curse them with a Bat-Bogey hex, but looked put out when she remembered that her parents had confiscated her wand.

"What happened?" she demanded.

Ron straightened up and struggled to look serious, but his voice shook and he smiled as he said, "Well, we were teasing him about certain...things..."

Ginny looked like she had been slapped. "What did you tease him about, Ron?"

"You'll have to ask him about that," said George as Harry emerged from the cabin, in a black trenchcoat, a black scarf, and a completely red face. "There you are mate," said George once he had shut the door behind him. Fred started to laugh again.

"Yeah, very funny," Harry said dryly, but he looked as though he was about to smile. "You and your pranks..." George turned away, and Hermione looked on curiously as Harry and Ron exchanged a significant look behind the twins' back and bent down. Next moment, two snowballs hit Fred and George in the back of the head.

Ginny clapped her hands to her mouth, stifling the laughter. Harry was okay, so she was too. Anna smiled. Ron and Harry gave each other a high five. Hermione laughed. Fred and George looked bewildered, then rounded on Ron. "I thought you were on our side, Ron!" said Fred indignantly.

Ron grinned. "You've been out-pranked."

"All right, so what really happened?" asked Hermione.

At these words, seriousness seemed to set on the boys' faces. Harry looked like he was about to faint on the spot and looked anxious; Ron cleared his throat, and the twins shrugged their shoulders. "Just a prank. Silly prank." But Hermione knew they were hiding something. For one, the twins never gave up the opportunity to brag about a prank and Ron and Harry kept looking in Ginny's direction.

Before anyone could say anything else, Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley came from their apartment, Mr. Weasley looked dead tired. Mrs. Weasley was bright with a wide smile. Then Bill and Charlie and Percy came from their cabin, looking tired and grumpy.

Hermione's mind was still not taken away from whatever the boys had been up to, however, and she chanced a glance at Ron. She looked away almost at once, cheeks burning, because he had been looking at her as well.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

After a short breakfast, that involved loud chatter from the adults and tension among Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, the group headed to the shopping mall. Anna had been right; there were only a few stores. The Weasleys went into the clothing and shoe store, while Bob and Bridgett went into what looked like a gift shop. Hermione hadn't decided where she wanted to go yet, but before she could even think about it, Anna had linked her arm through hers and led her into a bookstore.

When they were inside, Hermione was able to notice the books that lined the old, crooked shelves and chase away all negative thoughts, like, Why on earth is this silly cretin touching me? Get off! "Wow," she said softly, going into the heart of the store. Inhaling deeply, the musty, comforting smell of the library back home reached her nostrils, and she smiled.

"I knew you'd want to come in here, Hermione!" Anna said brightly. "Ron told me that you love books so much."

"I do," Hermione said a bit stiffly, sticking her chin in the air somewhat, as though challenging Anna to make a remark about how silly books were.

"So do I," Anna said dreamily. "I especially love the mystery ones, romance is alright though, what do you like?"

Hermione smiled. "Non-fiction."

Anna looked disappointed. "Oh."

Hermione felt proud. She did not want to be friends with someone who flirted with her best friend every second, and of course she wasn't going to let her know she read books other than non-fiction.

But their tastes in books didn't sway Anna. "Well, what sort of guy do you like?"

Hermione was taken aback. That was a bit of a personal question, which Anna had no right to ask, considering they hadn't even known one another for five days. "Er..." said Hermione.

"I'd bet you like guys that are intelligent and serious, like you," she guessed. "Guys like...Billy?" She smiled, and Hermione scowled. "Really, it's none of my business--"

"It isn't," Hermione agreed, cutting her off, and pretending to be interested in a particularly thick novel, feeling embarrassed and angry.

"Well, thought I might bring it up, because Billy's right over there," Anna said, eyes twinkling. Hermione shook her head firmly; she knew where this was going. "Hermione, you seem shy around guys, and if you like Billy, then I can always go--"

"I am not shy!" Hermione protested.

Anna nodded. "Sure...please Hermione, I see how you act around Harry and Ron and you've known them for...six years, right?"

"And just how do I act? What would you know about the relationships I have with Harry and Ron?" Hermione said hotly, shutting the novel abruptly.

Anna smiled. "Calm down, Hermione. I'm not trying to accuse you of something! All I'm saying is that it's clear you feel awkward around them."

Hermione was floored. What the hell--who did this girl think she was? "I don't feel awkward..."

"But they are rather immature, so I can sympathize. You'd be much better off with guys in college. People who are on your level."

Hermione was red with anger. She was the only one allowed to call Harry and Ron immature! Well, Ginny was too, but not this--this--blonde, who acted like she was perfect and knew everything about everything and who was trying to take Ron away from her. Hermione knew exactly where this was all going! Anna was trying to force Hermione onto Billy, thus having Ron to herself. Well, did she think that a little, what was the word--awkwardness was going to change a long-lasting friendship that had already lasted six years and was destined to last until they were old with canes?

"You don't know anything about me, Anna, and you don't know anything about Ron or Harry either," Hermione said, trying to gain composure. "So nose out...please." She crossed her arms defiantly across her chest.

Anna's smile had now faded and she shook her head. "I'll be in the gift shop," she said shortly, then she walked out.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to her beloved books. She inspected title after title, row upon row, until she settled on a paperback with a picture of two people on the front, a man and a woman, who were in a blazing row. She flipped it over to read the summary on the back and was a bit startled at what she read.

Roland and Helen have always been the best of friends. Helen, the sexy librarian with amazing wit and intelligence was always deemed "too good" for Roland, a sarcastic, fun loving man with a quick temper. But when Helen falls for him, and can't do a thing about it, things slowly change. Will Roland realize--

Hermione jumped, startled, as a hand touched her shoulder. She whirled around, only to find herself looking into Billy's dark eyes. He was smiling. "Hello, Hermione, how are you?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you, and you shouldn't sneak up on people like that," Hermione said, flustered.

Billy nodded. "Especially when one is reading bestseller novels," he said, smirking a bit, as he gestured to the book in Hermione's hands.

She blushed. "Yes, well..."

"You have to take a break from non-fiction sometime?" Billy supplied.

"What do you want?" she asked, not rudely. "I have to be somewhere and--"

"I wanted to know if you'd be my date to the final ball," he said.

"All right then," Hermione said quickly, wanting to get away. Someone called her name from over by the door, and she motioned that she was leaving, but before she could, Billy had taken her hand in his and kissed it. Hermione blushed furiously, averting her eyes, then took her hand away and jammed it into the pocket of her jeans.

"See you, tomorrow for dancing lessons," Billy said, smiling.

"Bye," she mumbled, a bit grumpily, turning around and shoving the romance book back onto the shelf. When she turned back around, she saw Ron by the door of the shop, looking hurt. She made her way over to him, and started to explain. "It was nothing, he just--"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me, Hermione. I understand."

Hermione paused, wondering if she should say something, then shook her head, shut her mouth, and followed him outside. She wasn't quite sure what had just happened.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well, now that we are all here, we can go get skates!" announced Bridgett, when Ron and Hermione had arrived. Hermione couldn't bring herself to walk over to Harry, because Ron had made his way in that direction, so she walked over to Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Bridgett.

The group nodded at Bridgett's announcement and followed her, Bob, and Anna down the street to the small clothing store. Ginny and Hermione walked behind the rest of the group. "You're going to have to help me with the skates," Ginny said in a nervous voice. "I don't even know what they are."

Hermione thanked Mr. Weasley for holding the door open for her and Ginny, and stepped into the store. "Well, they're like shoes, but you sort of glide across the floor--in this case, ice--with them on," she explained.

"Oh," said Ginny. "You're still going to have to help me, though. I've never been shoe shopping. All my shoes have been from my brothers."

"But, what about at the Yule Ball? You had those red shoes...you know, with the ballet shoe like material?" Hermione asked, as Mrs. Weasley asked the clerk where the section for skates was.

Ginny gave a small chuckle. "Those were my mum's. She always wears them to dad's Ministry parties. She shrunk them to fit my feet."

"Oh," said Hermione.

"Women's skates are over here, dears!" called Mrs. Weasley, as she waved at Hermione and Ginny. Hermione and Ginny made their way over, Ginny looking increasingly awkward.

"Just sit down there," Hermione mumbled to her, and her friend sat down on the bench by the wall. Hermione went over to the nearest shelf and found a pair of black ice skates with silver laces, and handed them to Ginny. "Those are a size six," she said. "Try them on."

The skates didn't fit, so Hermione found a size seven for Ginny to try. They fit nicely, but Ginny didn't like the style. The girls poked around for a style of skate that Ginny would like, and Ginny finally settled on a dark blue pair. "They...er...match my hat," she explained lamely, patting her baseball cap fondly.

"You mean Harry's hat," Hermione whispered to her. Ginny rolled her eyes, but blushed nonetheless.

"Let's go see how they're doing, shall we?" Ginny said, and before Hermione could say anything against the suggestion, the redhead--well, former redhead, as the bright purple and lime green shades had not faded from her hair yet--had pulled her into another aisle.

Hermione burst out laughing at once. Bob was struggling to take a skate off of Mr. Weasley's foot, and eventually got it off; unfortunately, he was thrown backwards into the skate shelf as he did so. As he wasn't exactly the skinniest man alive, boxes of skates fell to the floor, scattering skates all over the place. Fred and George, who had been trying to skate along the carpeted floor, tripped over the skates, landing on top of one another in a heap. "Get off my goods, mate!" said a scandalized Fred, as George looked horrified. Ron was sniggering loudly, until George chucked a skate at him. It knocked him round the head and he fell to the ground as well. Harry looked astonished and went to help Ron, but he stumbled over Bob, who had been trying to stand up, and fell as well.

"Oh no!" cried Mr. Weasley, looking quite worried at the mess he had made.

Hermione bit her lip to stop laughing, and decided to help Harry up from the ground. "I'm never buying skates again," he muttered, as Hermione offered him her arm. She pulled him up, smiling widely at the look on his face.

Fred and George had finally stood up, but, as they were unsteady on the skates, toppled right back to the floor. Ginny was trying to help Ron up, as he seemed quite unable to do it himself. The blade of the skate had hit him right in the middle of the forehead, and he was bleeding from it. A slew of curse words were spewing from his mouth, all directed at the twins. "Get up, Ron!" Ginny said in a frustrated tone. When her brother answered by simply touching his bleeding wound, she went to help the twins instead.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look and knelt down next to Ron, linking an arm through both of his. On three, they heaved him upwards. He staggered for a moment and they steadied him. "Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked him, instinctively reaching a hand up to inspect his wound. He jerked his head back from her touch, saying he was fine and that he didn't bloody well want skates anymore.

Harry sat Ron down on a bench, and told Hermione their shoe sizes. She nodded and went about searching for their skates. It took her six minutes to locate the correct size and a design she thought they'd like, and when she went back to the bench, all was calmer. The boxes that had toppled to the floor had been stacked back on the shelves by Mr. Weasley and Bob; Mrs. Weasley and Bridgett were comforting their respective husbands; the twins and Ginny were at the register purchasing their skates. Ron now had a Band-Aid on his wound, but blood was still seeping through a bit.

"Where are Bill, Percy, and Charlie?" Hermione asked as she handed Harry and Ron the skates she had picked out. She had just realized that she hadn't seen the eldest three all morning.

"Sleeping in, I suppose," said Harry. "They all had skates before we came." He pulled his skates out of the box, nodding with approval, and slid the skates on.

"Ron, why aren't you putting yours on?" Hermione looked curiously at him.

"He's still in shock, I think. Guess you're going to have to put his skates on for him, Hermione," said Harry, grinning knowingly. Hermione gave him a sarcastic smile in return and shook her head.

"I don't think so. The idiot got himself into this mess by laughing at Fred and George; he can put his own skates on. Go on, then Ron!" He just stared at her as though dazed. It made her feel very uncomfortable. "Oh, fine!" she huffed.

Hermione dropped to her knees and took Ron's left foot in her own. He was wearing torn up trainers with laces that looked as though they might fall apart if she touched them. She could not believe she was doing this (as though he was a two year old--honestly!), but she managed to untie the double knot and slipped off his shoe. She looked up to see Harry still grinning at her in an annoying fashion and she threw the shoe at him. "Hold that," she said bossily, determined not to show how embarrassed she felt at doing this. Hurriedly, she straightened Ron's bunched up sock on his foot, then fumbled in the box for a skate.

She could feel her face heating as she touched Ron's foot, forcing it into the black skate. A tingling feeling was dashing up and down her arm and she couldn't reason why. Firstly, this was his foot for crying out loud! Secondly, she wasn't even touching his skin; she was touching his ugly grey sock.

"Nervous, Hermione?" Harry asked innocently, and Hermione's head snapped up and she glared daggers at him. Hurriedly, she did up the laces to the skate.

"How does that feel?" she demanded of Ron.

"Feels good, I'd say," Harry whispered, not bothering to hide his sniggers now. Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend's childish behavior and smacked Ron's foot as she questioned him again.

"Er...you--it feels fine...good fit." Ron looked as though he was having difficulty moving his lips.

"Good," Hermione said briskly, untying the laces of the skate and pulling it off his foot so quickly Ron yelled, "OW!"

"Sorry." She shoved the skate into the box and grabbed his shoe from Harry and put it on his foot. Hermione quickly tied the laces of the tattered trainer, and then stood up, taking the two boxes of skates up to the register to pay for them.

She still felt the nerves jostling inside her from what had just happened with Ron; and as she looked at him (with his eyes closed, head rested against the seat), her eyes wandered toward his feet. The only coherent thought to come at her mind at the moment was what Parvati always said about guys with big feet...

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Bill, Charlie, and Percy met the rest of them at the little pub where they were having lunch. Harry was right; the three of them had been sleeping in. Percy didn't look happy at all; Charlie announced that Bill had blown a whistle into his ear to wake him up.

Charlie kept up his show of intimidating the male waiters that even talked to Ginny, but Ginny apparently wasn't in the mood to flirt today. She and Harry were chatting away animatedly, and Hermione rolled her eyes when she found it was about Quidditch.

As for Ron, he had a large Band-Aid on his forehead that Bob had given him, and he seemed much better. He was shoveling so much food into his mouth that Hermione lost her appetite and pushed her plate of food away from her. Eventually, Ron asked if he could eat it, and she, throwing him a look of disgust, purposely gave it to Bill, who eyed it warily. "Oh, honestly!" she said, glaring at Bill and handing the plate over to Ron.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

After lunch, the group purchased any Christmas gifts they wanted to buy, then set off toward the lake. Like Anna had said, the lake was completely frozen over, perfect for skating. Ginny immediately grabbed Harry by the hand, and pulled him over to the ice, while Anna asked Ron to help her skate (Hermione got the feeling that Anna knew perfectly well how to skate already). Imbecile, she thought, seating herself firmly on a bench next to Bob.

"Come on, Hermione," said a voice. Hermione saw Charlie approach her, a hand outstretched.

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "What if all the ice cracks?" She knew no such thing would happen, and Charlie gave her a look that plainly asked why she was feeding him nonsense.

"Let's go," said Charlie, shaking his head and clapping his hands. "Just because you're languishing in pity because my brother's with another girl doesn't mean you should miss out on the fun. Come on."

The stubbornness in Charlie's eyes was what made Hermione mumble "okay" and get to her feet. Hermione had always associated Ron being a lot like Bill, as they were both tall and looked eerily alike--and both were the only two Weasley children with blue eyes. But now she realized that personality wise, Ron was hardly anything like Bill; he was more like Charlie. Ron lacked the confidence that Bill exuded, and he certainly wasn't as dedicated to his studies. But Ron was brave, and a bumbling fool, but he always helped others and knew exactly to comfort them.

"You know how to skate?" Charlie asked, when they were on the ice. Anna zoomed by them, nearly knocking Hermione off balance, but Charlie caught her before she fell, laughing. "Is that a no?"

"I know how to skate," Hermione answered firmly. "Anna frightened me!"

"I saw that," Charlie said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, let's skate." He pushed off on the ice, gliding quickly across the lake, and Hermione followed, keeping his pace. The two skated in silence for quite a long while, not talking, and the sound the skates made on the ice calmed Hermione somehow. She expertly moved on the ice, her hands clasped behind her back, her body leaning forward slightly.

When she and Charlie were out of breath, they stepped off the ice and Hermione sat down on the bench, while he went to fetch some hot chocolate from a nearby pub. She was rubbing her hands together when she sensed Ron approach. He sat down next to her, and she was surprised to see a scowl on his face. He had certainly seemed to be having a decent time with Anna. "Well?" Hermione asked irritable.

"Well, what?"

"Why that face? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, okay...fine," she said, rolling her eyes. If he wasn't willing to talk about what was bothering him, then she wouldn't press the matter. To ease the tension between them, Hermione began to hum a wizarding tune under her breath. Ironically, the song was called, 'Get a Clue'.

"Could you stop that?" Ron said after a few moments.

"Fine." She sighed loudly, then looked at him, still expecting an explanation for his behavior. "Wonder when Charlie's going to come back with that cocoa," she muttered absently, and Ron started violently, his knee jerking painfully into hers. "Ouch, Ron!" she exclaimed.

He didn't apologize, but stared moodily at the lake. Hermione followed his gaze to Harry and Ginny; Harry was obviously not a very good skater, and kept falling every few seconds. Ginny some times was able to catch him before he fell, but other times she was so overcome with giggles, she couldn't do anything. Hermione watched as Harry slipped for the tenth time, and Ginny caught him, but then slipped herself. "Whoa!" said Harry as they fell to the ice in what seemed like slow motion. Harry scrambled to get off of Ginny and stand, but he slipped again, producing more laughs from the two of them.

Hermione shifted her stare back to Ron. "You aren't upset about Harry and Ginny, are you?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course not. Why? Are they together? Why don't I know about it? I mean, I know Harry's fallen for her hard, but..." he said sharply.

"Harry likes her?" Hermione said, clapping a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Ron, that's wonderful! Why didn't he come and tell me about it?"

"Because you're close with Ginny, that's why."

"You're her brother!"

"Yeah, but I don't go round blabbing all the time."

"Oh that's rubbish, and you know it Ron Weasley!" she said, her voice high pitched now.

"So, they aren't together, then?"

"Not that I know of," Hermione huffed.

"But you would know if they were, right?" asked Ron anxiously.

"Yes, I would, but that doesn't mean I'd tell you!" She stared straight ahead, chin stuck in the air.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Do you ever tell me things?" she asked, turning her neck around so fast her hair flew into his face.

"I tell you stuff all the time!"

"No, Ron, I mean besides Quidditch, how much Snape is a greasy git, and how annoying I am," she retorted.

"Yes, I do!"

"Of course you do. So, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered grumpily.

"Surprising coming from someone who tells me things," Hermione said angrily.

"Just shut it, will you?" Hermione, aggravated, threw her hands in the air, accidentally hitting Ron in the forehead where his bandage was. He howled in pain.

"Sorry, Ron, I didn't mean it!" she said, worried. A few moments passed as Ron mumbled, "S'okay", and then they were quiet.

Soon, though, Hermione started the conversation again. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong or not?"

"Fine, you want to know what's wrong, Hermione? You, prancing around with all these guys--it's so bloody disgusting I want to hurl. You write to Viktor--"

"Oh, honestly, Ron, the Viktor thing is getting really old, and I wish you would stop harping on it--"

"--call that stupid bloke Kyle on the phone all the time--"

"Kyle was my only friend before Hogwarts! I'm not going to stop speaking to him because of you!"

But he ranted on as though he hadn't heard. "--You dance around with that arrogant prat, Billy--"

"The term arrogant prat surely does sound familiar, Ron. It belongs to a person who doesn't want a girl to talk to any other boy but him--"

"--and now you sit there skating around with Charlie, completely abandoning Harry and I, I just don't understand you Hermione!"

"I didn't see Harry complaining!" Hermione yelled. The two of them were now on their feet, standing mere inches from each other; their faces were so close Hermione could feel Ron's breath tickle her skin. "Besides, you sure weren't worrying about me when you were parading around with Anna like a puppy on a leash! Talk about disgusting, that's disgusting for you--"

"I do not follow her around like a puppy on a leash!"

"Yes, you do! Doesn't he Charlie?" She turned to the older redhead, who was carrying two cups of cocoa, looking as though he had never seen them before.

"What does that matter, anyway? I was talking about you, don't change the subject!"

"Oh, so it's okay for you to be jealous when I'm around other guys, but if I'm jealous when you're around other girls, it's not okay? That has got to be the most feminist thing you have ever said--"

Ron shook his head wildly. "Hang on a minute, now we're talking about women's rights? What's next--house elves?"

"Yes, house elves, you insensitive wart! I suppose you categorize house elves and woman together--both like being oppressed because they've lived that way for centuries, and so--"

"And she wonders why I never tell her things," Ron muttered to no one in particular as Hermione continued yelling. "Oi, just shut up Hermione!"

"Why don't you actually listen for once, Ron!"

"I've had it!!!" Ron bellowed, stalking off.

"That's bloody well good for you!"

Hermione panted for a bit, as yelling had quite tired her out, and looked around at the others. Arthur and Molly looked aghast; Fred and George seemed serious for once; Percy was shaking his head from side to side sadly; Bill's eyes were wide; Charlie shifted his feet awkwardly; Harry and Ginny exchanged a worried look; Bob and Bridgett mouthed soundlessly. But what was worse was Anna. She had her eyebrows raised, and a look on her face that clearly said, 'See Hermione, you don't know how to act around them'.

Before anyone could actually say or do anything, Hermione dashed away, wondering, not for the first time that day, what the hell had happened.