Uh Oh, You're Me

Hermione grabbed Ginny's hair and a hairbrush. She began brushing the hair softly. Ron closed his eyes and absorbed her presence around him. He felt her hand brush against his cheek when she pulled the hair back in a ponytail.

"Ginny?" He heard her voice as though from far away. "Ginny?" He heard more clearly this time.

"Hmm?" he said, still in a slight daze.

"I'm finished," Hermione said. "Look in the mirror, then do my hair."

"Okie dokie," he answered. He went and looked in the mirror hanging on the inside of Ginny's wardrobe. It was very pretty. Hermione was good at more then homework.

"Er...what do you want me to do with your hair?" he asked nervously.

"Just a simple braid, if that's ok," she replied.

Ron gulped. "Okay..."

He was terrified. He didn't know how to do a braid! He decided to brush her hair first. That seemed the thing to do. He took the brush and combed through the soft brown locks of hair. He came across a large knot that he decided would be easier to pull apart with his fingers. He was good at untangling things. He took the hair in his hands and pulled apart the mess. The silky locks came out easier then he had expected and he continued to brush. Here it was, the moment of truth.

"Um...can I just give you a ponytail?" he asked timidly. "This is taking a bit longer then expected and I want to get down to see Harry and...and...Ron." It felt weird to talk about himself in the third person.

Hermione said, "Of course you can." Ron let out the breath he had been holding. A ponytail he could do. You just slide the scrunchie up the hair and you're done, right? He did this and he noticed all it accomplished was getting the hair more tangled. He brushed it out again.

"Ginny, what on earth are you doing?"

"Sorry, I'm not myself today," he said. What a cliché. He tried a different approach. He did a severing charm under his breath on the scrunchie and gathered her hair in one hand. He wrapped the scrunchie around her hair and did a binding charm to the broken parts. It worked perfectly. He smiled to himself. I am so good.

"Done," he told her. She got up and looked in the mirror.

"It's great!" she said.

He smiled. "Then give me a hug! I did it!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You've put my hair up plenty of times, this is nothing special."

"Sorry," he said looking down at his feet. "I...er...got caught up in my triumph."

"I see," she said, still looking suspicious. "Let's go to the common room now, shall we?"

"Sure," said Ron.

He followed her out of the dormitory, feeling really stupid. He hoped Ginny didn't blush as much as he did.

"Hey, Ron!" Hermione said. "Hi Harry."

"Hey Hermione!" Ginny and Harry said in unison. Ginny was giving Ron a strange look. Like she knew something he didn't. It was getting quite annoying.

"Let's go down to breakfast," Harry said.

"Good idea," Ron said, walking next to Harry. Harry gave him an odd look.

"Hey," Harry said smiling kindly down at him. "Joining us today?"

"Well of course I am you great prat!" Ron exclaimed, forgetting that he was in Ginny's body. Everyone stared at him. He blushed. "Er...April Fools?"

Ginny slapped a hand to her forehead and slid her head down until her fingers got tangled in the fiery jungle that was Ron's hair.

Harry and Hermione just looked at him for a while before resuming their conversation. Ron sat next to Hermione. She pretty much ignored him when he didn't draw attention to himself. He felt miserable, and very guilty. So this is how we make Ginny feel? He thought to himself. He felt horrible. He watched Ginny put on her show. She wasn't doing a very good job with her jokes. Now it was his turn to be embarrassed.

"...So Snape said, 'that's no first year, that's my wife!'" she was saying with great enthusiasm. She laughed hysterically while Harry and Hermione smiled weakly. Ron grimaced. His reputation is ruined!

"Hilarious, Ron," Ron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll bet Lockhart himself couldn't have come up with a better joke."

Harry and Hermione laughed, looking at him in surprise.

"Thank you, but Lockhart couldn't come up with a joke if it bit him in the...er..." she looked around nervously, "arse!"

Ron looked at her, horrified. She made him look like a total pansy by looking so nervous before saying that.

Harry grinned at Ginny. "Sarcasm, Ron. And nice job with the cussing. Soon you'll be a pro."

Ginny blushed. "Shut up Harry."

Ron relaxed. At least she knew to tell Harry to shut up. Maybe she wasn't a lost cause after all.

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The rest of the day passed by pretty uneventfully. Ron didn't tag along with the others after breakfast. They made it all too clear that he wasn't wanted.

After dinner, though, Ginny caught up with him.

"How'd you shake them off?" Ron asked.

"Told them I had to go to the men's room," she said, simply. "I do really have to go, but first I'm gonna talk to you."

"Too much information, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed.

"What, I just said I have to pee," she told him.

"I know what you said," he replied, putting his head in his hands. "But never mind that. Do you think they suspect something?"

"I think I'm doing a pretty good job," she said.

"Yeah, especially with that Snape joke," he said with raised eyebrows.

"Well it was funny in my mind," she explained.

Ron shook his head.

"Well I'm just not as funny as you or Fred and George, ok?" she said.

Ron looked up. She had categorized him with Fred and George! He was flattered. He never thought he was as funny as them. He didn't say that of course.

"I think you should have some girl talk with Hermione tonight," Ginny said.

"Why's that?" Ron said, a little nervous.

"Because the way she was looking at me was making me sick," she stated. "How can you not notice it?"

"Not notice what?" Ron asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh my god you're so blind!" she almost yelled.

"Shush!" Ron whispered frantically, looking around.

"Sorry," she said much more quietly. "But, honestly!"

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked again.

"You'll find out tonight if you ask the right questions," she said, smiling slyly. "Listen, I gotta go before they start getting suspicious. I'll see you later, ok?"

"Okay, bye."

He watched Ginny walk back to the portrait hole. He decided not to join her right now. He walked down the chilly corridors thinking. What on earth could've caused something like this to happen? He missed having his place in the trio. He missed Harry and Hermione so much it ached. He might spend time with Hermione tonight but it wouldn't be the same. She didn't talk to Ginny like she talked to him. He sighed and walked for about half an hour before seeing that it was dark out. He supposed Hermione would be in the dormitory by now.

He quickly found his way to the fat lady and uttered the password (June bug). He looked around the common room. Ginny and Harry were playing chess. Good thing Ginny wasn't bad. That way Harry wouldn't win and make him have to kill himself. He walked over to them.

"Has Hermione gone to bed?" he asked.

"Yep," Ginny said, winking at him. He glared at her, hoping Harry hadn't noticed anything.

"Of course you would know," Harry said, grinning at Ginny.

Shut up, Harry.

"Shut up, Harry," Ginny said.

Good. She said it.

Okay, Ron, she said to himself. You can do this. You can conquer the arts of girl talk.

He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Hermione was sitting on the bed brushing her hair. He stood in the doorway for a bit, watching the way the flowing waved cascaded down her back, pulling straight every time the brush ran through them. God she's beautiful.

He closed the door behind him. She turned at the sound and smiled at him.

"Hey Gin," she said.

"Hey," he said a bit shakily. "Want to...er...have some...er...girl talk?"

She looked at him, considering him for a moment. "Something on your mind?"

"Well, yes," he said. He sat down next to her on the bed. There was no point in beating around the bush. He took another deep breath and said it in a rush. "Whoyoulike?"

"Huh?"

He cleared his throat. "Who do you like?" he asked more clearly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why was that on your mind?"

He racked his brain for a good reason. He decided on saying what Ginny had said earlier. "The way you've been looking at my brother is making me sick."

Hermione blushed the brightest red he had ever seen her blush. It was almost as bad as he blushed.

"Is it really that obvious?" she asked.

Now they were getting somewhere. "Is what that obvious?"

"That I...that I..." she gulped. "That I'm in love with Ron."