If there is one thing

It was well into the year and Hermione still denied her feelings for her best friend. Of course, being the smart and level-headed person she was, she noticed all the tell-tale signs. Her sub-conscience knew full-well how she felt. And of course, she always found some 'logical' explanation to dismiss her feelings. Just like now as she found herself day dreaming about a head of bright red hair and a face full of freckles.

I'm not doing anything. I was just... Appreciating all the friends and family I have now. With the ever increasing danger we're all in, it's important to cherish every moment you have.

Okay! So I think about him sometimes. There's no harm in that.

He can be very interesting at times.

It just so happens to be a very good picture of him.

It was a very thoughtful gift.

He has a nice smile!

I HAVE SENSITIVE SKIN!

Alright, alright. Maybe I do have... feelings for Ron.

Feelings... that surpass friendship.

I'm checking my pulse as we speak to make sure I'm still alive.

It was a start alright. It was the start of a very confusing time for a one Miss Hermione Granger. Even though she knew it for a fact, and was now able to say it to herself, she had no idea what to do about her feelings. She couldn't tell Ron. He'd just laugh, or pity her, or stop talking to her, and then where would she be? One friend short of the only real three she had. No, it just wouldn't do to tell him anything. So what's a girl to do when she's in love with her best friend and can do nothing about it?

"Nothing, absolutely nothing!" Hermione exclaimed, as she and Ron (more Hermione than Ron, of course) attempted to complete their Transfiguration homework.

"What's the matter now?" Ron asked, exasperated. This was the third time Hermione had done that in the last thirty minutes.

"I just can't seem to figure it out. It seems like so simple a thing. Turn the tea bag into a frog. It's not even an extremely difficult incantation. It's like I just can't seem to concentrate," Hermione answered, conveniently leaving out the fact that she couldn't concentrate because he was around.

"Hermione, you work entirely too hard. Maybe you can't concentrate because your brain is just tired of thinking," Ron joked. Hermione kept working as if she hadn't heard a word he said. Ron grabbed her wand away from her.

"Ron, what..."

"Come on, Hermione. You need to relax."

"Ron, give me back my wand."

"Come get it," Ron said , with a mischievous grin on his face. He then ran to the other side of the room with her wand held above his head. Hermione rolled her eyes and pursued him reluctantly.

"Ron, I don't have time for these games."

"That's your problem. Bet you can't catch me!" Hermione held in her laughter and tried to sound as serious as she could.

"Ron, I mean it. Stop this foolishness, and give me back my wand." Ron sighed and walked over to her.

"Alright, you win," he said, as he held out her wand. But when she went to grab it he pulled it away again.

"I'm sorry, too slow," Ron said, beaming. This time Hermione couldn't hold back her smile.

"Ron come on!"

"Okay, seriously this time. Here you go." He held it out, she went for it, and he snatched it away again.

"Too slow again!" Hermione sighed and smiled brighter.

"How long are you going to do this?"

"As long as it takes for you to take it back." Hermione got an idea and smiled.

"Okay, fair enough." With that she jumped up and grabbed her wand from his hand.

"There. Now that I have it, will you please let me get back to work?" Ron just continued smile.

"Not for long." Then he rushed to grab her wand back from her, the force sending them both tumbling back. They rolled around laughing until they stopped with Hermione on top of Ron, and Ron holding her wand away from her. They had yet to really notice the position they were in so they just laid there for a moment laughing at each other. It was only until Hermione wondered why her entire body seemed alive that it hit her. It seemed to hit Ron at the same time because both lost their cheerful, care-free feelings and looks, and froze instantly. For a few nervous, but delicious, moments they remained where they were, breathless, faces held inches away from each other, until annoyed with what the situation was doing to her body and emotions, Hermione finally got up and took her wand back from Ron.

"Now, if you're done horsing around, we have work to do. Or should I say, I have work to do. Honestly, if I had a friend like me, who did all my work as well, maybe I would have time for more leisurely activities," Hermione stated in a voice not quite steady. She willed her heart beat to go down back to normal. Ron looked dazed and stayed on the floor for a few more moments.

"Alright, point taken,' Ron said, as he pulled himself up off the ground.

"Besides, won't Lavender be peeved if she finds you here?"

"Lavender and I have broken up." Hermione ignored the satisfaction she got from his response.

"Oh? What was it this time?" Hermione asked, unconsciously asking so she could know what not to do when, and if, she ever got her chance.

"Hermione, she called me Ronald." Hermione laughed.

"Enough said." Ron chuckled as well. He looked at her seriously for a moment before saying anything else.

"Besides... I just don't think she could handle it."

"Handle what?"

"Never being able to be the number one girl in my life." Hermione looked up at him.

"Why's that?"

"Well, because... you'll always hold that place." Hermione smiled awkwardly and she felt herself melting.

"Right, your number one friend that's a girl," Hermione said, half hoping he would deny it. Ron got a weird look on his face before confirming.

"Right, my number one friend that's a girl." Hermione swallowed her disappointment.

"Well, I am truly sorry about you and Lavender. I was hoping you had finally found the right girl." And that that girl was me.

"I've stopped hoping that, Hermione. Now I can only hope that the right girl will find me." Hermione turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. A face that screamed, she already has.

"Well, I'll hope with you. Maybe that'll help."

"Thanks, 'Mione." They locked gazes for just a moment then broke away, uncomfortably.

"What about you? Is there any special someone you're interested in that I should know about?" Ron asked, looking as if he dreaded her answer. Hermione contemplated telling him about her feelings for split second before coming to her senses and thinking better of it.

"No, there is no one in particular." Ron breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank, Merlin." Hermione looked incredulous at his response. Ron fumbled for an explanation.

"You know, because I would hate to have to pummel some poor bloke just because he fancies you. I just can't have someone cutting into my 'study' time," Ron explained, with what he hoped was a playful smile on his face. Hermione couldn't push the nagging sense of disappointment away this time. She turned away from him, and mumbled under her breath.

"Like you could talk." Ron's smile fell.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She whipped back around to face him.

"It means exactly what I said. You go off gallivanting and doing Merlin knows what with so many girls, I'm surprised you can keep them all straight! In fact, I wouldn't even be shocked to find out if you were sleeping with all of them," Hermione exclaimed, not meaning a word she said. Ron was so taken back by what she said, he just reacted in his usual Ron manner.

"Well, at least I go out with someone. Anyway why should you care who I'm sleeping with? I'm not sleeping with you, and that is the only thing here that matters!" Ron fired back, before he had a chance to really think about what he was saying.

There are two ways this statement could be interpreted. One: It could mean the fact that they're not together was the only thing important because it's the only thing that matters to him. The only thing that he wants. Two: It could mean that the only thing important was that they're not together, because then it would be none of her business. She had no claim over him at all because they have not been, are not now, nor ever will be, together. The former never crossed Hermione's mind, while the latter replayed in her head over and over until she could feel the chunks of tears start to rise in her throat. Since she'd rather die than let him see how much his comment hurt her, she gathered her things and prepared to leave.

"Yes Ronald, I can see where that would be important. You can do whatever you like. It's not like I can say anything about it. We're not together, nor will we ever be. It's none of my business. And you're right about something else too. I haven't been seeing anyone, because let's face it. Who would want to go out with some buck-toothed, bushy-haired, know-it-all?" she choked, before she started to leave, tears already nearly falling out of her eyes. Ron grabbed her back before she could reach the door and held her close. Hermione wanted to pull away but the opportunity to be so close to him was too tempting to pass up.

"That's not what I meant, Hermione. I'm sorry. And you're not just some buck-toothed, bushy-haired, know-it-all. Any guy would be lucky to have you, and most guys know that." Most guys, but not the only one who matters.

Hermione pulled back from him, just enough to see his face. He brushed away the few tears that had escaped from her eyes, and pulled a few curls that had fallen into her face behind her hear. Then he just looked at her with an expression Hermione couldn't quite read.

"When will you see it?" Ron asked, sounding as if he wasn't really talking to her. Hermione was lost in such a daze she hardly registered his comment.

"When will I see what?" She asked in return, barely above a whisper. She didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on between them.

"When will you see what... what..." Ron shook his head as if recovering from some thought he was lost in. He dropped his hands away from her and pulled out of their embrace.

"When will you see what Harry has been doing lately. Come on, Hermione. I count on you for these things." Hermione tried to ignore her distress that the moment hadn't gone farther or lasted longer. She sighed and set her things back down.

"I know, I know. I'm working on it, believe me. Harry's just so tricky sometimes. Especially when it comes to things he doesn't want us finding out about." Ron gathered up the very few things he brought along to work with and headed for the door.

"Well, you let me know how it's coming. I have to go. Something just came up. I'll see you later," he said, and left in such a hurry that Hermione didn't have time to object. She sat down at his desk and thought abut why she'd let yet another opportunity to Ron about her feelings pass her by.

Though she didn't really know it, she never told him about her feelings because she always figured he'd be there. That she'd always get another chance. Sure, he had plenty of girlfriends, but none that really seemed of any importance. No matter who he was with, she remained his number one girl.

Enter Taja.

Taja Caldwell was perfection bottled in human form. Long blond hair that would have made Fleur give her an eye of envy. A slim face and a pouty mouth that just seemed to beg to be kissed. Green eyes to rival that of even Harry Potter himself. Anyone who came into contact with her, boy and girl alike, fell easily to her oblivious charms. She was nice just for niceness sakes and hardly ever said a bad word about anyone. She could've been the most popular girl in school if she wanted to be. However, she was more interested in a quest for knowledge than in ultimate fame. She was quite possibly the only other person who had memorized half the books in the school library. (Other than Hermione Granger, of course.) She was loyal, friendly, and smart. She was exactly what Ron was searching for: A carbon copy of Hermione.

How Ron and Taja met was like something out of a romance novel. Hermione and Ron were walking down the corridor leading to the library. Hermione was in full lecture mode on some aspect of Potions class. Ron was hanging on to her every word and not at all watching where he was going. At that same time, another person was coming down the corridor as well. She had her head buried face deep in a book and couldn't see where she was going either. Before long, as fate would have it, Ron and the mystery girl collided. The things both students were carrying fell to the ground. Hermione was so engrossed in what she was talking about she hadn't noticed the incident at all, and kept right on walking and talking.

"I'm terribly sorry," Ron said, as he scrambled to pick up his things.

"No, it's all my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's alright, neither was I," Ron replied, as he picked up the last of his things and looked up into the eyes of the person he bumped into. A pair of big, beautiful, green eyes to be exact.

"Well, maybe we should be more careful in the future. The next person we bump into might not be as understanding as we are... or something like that," the girl said, blushing adorably. Ron smiled.

"Maybe we should. I'm Ron, by the way," Ron introduced himself, as he held out his hand. The girl eagerly shook it.

"Oh, I know who you are. I've seen you around . I'm Taja," Taja answered, smiling brightly. Ron looked absolutely dazzled. He looked around to make sure he gathered everything he'd dropped and spotted a lone book on the floor. He picked it up, inspected it, and handed it to Taja.

"I think this one's yours." She took the book from his hand.

"It sure is. Thank Merlin I didn't loose this. I would've been in pretty bad shape once I realized it was gone." Ron looked at the book again and smiled.

"I can't believe Hogwarts: A History, would mean that much to you."

"Are you kidding? It's like my bible." Ron laughed. Taja looked a little insulted.

"You think that's funny, do you?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just, that's exactly how one of my friends feel. She thinks that book holds the secret to life or something. What you just said reminded me of her. In fact, you... kind of remind me of her."

"You mean me?" Hermione interrupted, after she realized Ron was no longer with her. She had the strangest feeling she had just broken up something and she didn't like it.

"Oh hello, Hermione. I didn't see you standing there. This is Taja. Taja, this is Hermione." Taja held out her hand.

"It's real pleasure, Hermione. I've heard a lot about you." Hermione looked at her hand as if it were diseased for a second before quickly, and reluctantly, shaking it

"Well, I've heard nearly nothing about you. Do you two know each other?"

"Oh, no. We just kind of bumped into each other... literally," Ron explained, as he and Taja shared a private laugh. Hermione found nothing humorous.

"I don't get it."

"Oh well, we jus-" Taja began before Hermione held up a hand to stop her. Taja swallowed the rest of her response.

"Doesn't matter. Look Ron, if we want to get done with our homework before nightfall we're really going to have to go. Now." Ron looked between the two girls and decided to choose his words wisely.

"Well, Taja-"

"Oh, it's ok. I was just leaving. Got to get to the Ravenclaw dorms to catch up on my own homework."

"Would you like to join us? I 'd wager that we have the same assignments," Ron offered, hopefully. Taja thought about it, then looked at Hermione's murderous face and thought better of it.

"No, you two go alone. It was nice meeting you both."

"Charmed, I'm sure," Hermione replied, with a fake polite smile plastered on her face.

"Well, see you later." Ron watched her walk away for a moment before something panicked inside of him.

"At least let me carry your books? You have a lot," Ron called out to her. Hermione looked dumbfounded. Taja turned around and smiled.

"Sure, I'd like that." Ron smiled brightly before shoving his books into Hermione's already full arms.

"Do me a favor Hermione. Carry these, would you?"

"Actually..."

"Thanks a lot," Ron said, without Hermione having a say-so in the matter. Then he skipped off to carry Taja's books back to her dorm room.

Hermione stood there, in the middle of the corridor, arms loaded with books, absolutely horrified at the exchanged that just happened. This girl had only known Ron for a few minutes and already she was able to make him forget all about her. Warning signs went off in her head immediately. Taja was definitely a girl Hermione shouldn't take lightly. Hermione was so deep in her own thoughts she hadn't really noticed some one coming down the adjacent stairs.

"That's it! I'm tired of this little game we keep playing. It's getting real old, real fast. I understand that you don't want to shout about our relationship from the roof tops, but all this sneaking around is starting to wear on me. It's like you're ashamed of me or something. And I know it can't be that. I'm way too pretty for that, so what is it?" Draco Malfoy said to some person coming down the stairs behind him. Since Hermione was in no way a Malfoy fan, she decided to leave before he saw her. But the voice following his had her frozen in place.

"Draco, please try to understand. We can't just go around holding hands and snogging where we very well please. Think what people will say. The world has enough problems already without dealing with their 'boy wonders' new boyfriend," Harry Potter, Hermione's other best friend and hope of the wizarding world, said as he made his way down the steps as well. They were so caught up in each other, they didn't see Hermione standing there.

"I thought you didn't buy in to all that stuff."

"I don't, but some do. I really just don't want to be bothered with all the extra stress it would bring."

"I'm not asking for you to print out an ad in the Daily Prophet, Harry. I just want some kind of recognition that we're going somewhere. I have no idea how you really feel about me."

"Oh, come now, Draco. You know how I feel," Harry said, smiling seductively.

"Prove it," Draco said, smiling as well, anxiously waiting for what he knew was about to come. Sure enough Harry pulled Draco's face toward his own and kissed him soundly on the lips. Hermione gasped from some where behind them. Harry whizzed around and Draco looked at her, utterly shocked. Harry turned three shades lighter and looked like one of the school's ghosts.

"Well there you go, Potter. One of the Musketeers already knows." With that, Draco kissed a still frozen Harry on the cheek and walked away. A few more moments passed as friend looked at friend in complete disbelief.

"How long have you been standing there?" Harry asked, finally.

"Long enough," Hermione answered, still not moving.

"Look, I can explain," Harry began, before Hermione stopped him.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Harry. You can do whatever you please with your love life." Harry looked surprised.

"Really? You mean you're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad Harry."

"But it's Draco Malfoy! Our enemy for six years. He makes my life a living hell. He starts fights with Ron, and calls you horrible names, and always tries to get us in trouble, and..."

"And none of that matters because you like him, right?"

"It matters, it's just..." Harry took a deep breath.

"Oh, Hermione. I don't even really know how it happened. It was like I woke up one day and just decided to jump head first into a relationship with one of my arch rivals. It all started at the beginning of the term. You remember when I had that detention with him for fighting? Well, we got assigned to dust all the furniture in the Astronomy Tower. I was working diligently because I wanted it over as soon as possible, but he wasn't working at all. I screamed at him for being lazy, and he screamed at me for being so unattractive. I told him to get off his ass, and he challenged me to make him. I grabbed him by his robes and he pushed me down. We were fighting for a while, then it was more like we were just rolling, and once that stopped I was on top of him and he was panting beneath me. He looked so good, I couldn't help myself. I just bent down and..."

"Harry, stop, please! I said I wasn't mad. I did not however, say I wanted to hear all the 'horny' details. As I said before, you don't have to explain anything to me," Hermione said, looking slightly disgusted. Harry sighed, defeated.

"I know. It just felt so good to get all that off my chest. I haven't been able to tell anyone, since it happened." Hermione gave her friend a look of compassion.

"I understand, Harry." Harry looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks, Hermione." She smiled back.

"Well, at least I know what you've been doing all term."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Ron and I were more than a little curious as to why you were being so mysterious all of a sudden." Harry blushed slightly, and he looked away from her.

"Oh, yeah." Harry's head shot up, as if he suddenly realized something.

"Ron! Look Hermione, I'm glad you know, but Ron..."

"Enough said. I agree. I don't think Ron could handle this right now. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, again." Looks of sincerity and understanding passed between the two.

"Well, come on. Let's go get something to eat."

"Alright."

She and Harry walked to the Great Hall and entered amongst all the chaos that was a usual Hogwarts dinner. She and Harry took their rightful seats near Ron, who seemed not to really notice their arrival. Hermione wondered just what had his attention so captivated. She followed his line of vision to the Ravenclaw table, specifically a particular blonde blond house member who was chatting it up with two other girls. Even though the girl seemed to be deep into conversation with her friends, she wasn't so engrossed that she didn't steal a few glances back at Ron. Hermione's heart dropped.

She took another look at the two starry-eyed teenagers sitting at two different tables before completing her thought.