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Author: Majick Story: It's Just So... Rating: Young Teens Status: Completed Reviews: 11 Words: 9,029
Ron Weasley is quite the most annoying creature put on the face of this Earth. It's an inborn trait, I'm sure. Fred and George could be annoying at times, I can imagine that Percy was annoying to anyone who didn't want to stick to the rules, and Bill, Charlie and Ginny probably all have their moments. Ron, however, is the absolute ruler, the unquestioned champion, the complete and undeniable first placed, most annoying being ever to grace the planet Earth. Of course, most of the time he doesn't realise it. And sometimes he does something incredibly sweet that throws me completely. Like when he took over Buckbeak's appeal in the third year, or when he came over to Ginny after he had 'that talk' with Harry and gave her a big hug. He really does care for her. Which is why I thought that Ginny and Harry should just tell him they wanted some time alone by themselves. I knew Ron wasn't being all over them on purpose, he was just trying to show he didn't have a problem with their dating. It was sweet. But annoying at the same time. So in the end I gave in, and said I'd find a way to help them. I came up with the idea of dragging him to a S.P.E.W. meeting--and I was sure it would be dragging, with an option on kicking and screaming thrown in for good measure--because I thought it would be rather fun to see him there. I also thought I might have a chance of convincing him to help with S.P.E.W. No chance, of course. As soon as we were out of the common room he was moaning, and he didn't stop until we were in the kitchen. He only shut up then because Dobby and the other house elves spent the whole time feeding him and fetching him things. Hardly any of them listened to my latest argument for them demanding payment and fair treatment, they were far more interested in serving their great 'master', as they insist on calling him. By the time we left, I was so angry I could barely speak. Ron protested that he had been listening to me, but that it was pretty obvious that the elves weren't 'secretly yearning to throw off the shackles of their enslavement.' I settled for silently fuming. Ron had thrown part of my argument back at me. I hate it when he does that. How can he sit there, daydreaming, or eating doughnuts or whatever, and then turn around and repeat what someone said? By the time we got up to the seventh floor--thanks to a deliberately tricky staircase, honestly, the entire school seemed out to put me in a bad mood--I was on the verge of forgiving Ron. I just can't stay mad at him these days, I miss him too much when we argue and we don't speak. There. I said it. I like Ron Weasley too much to argue with him. It hurt so much in the fourth year when he turned on me over Viktor, and I'm afraid that poor Viktor spent a lot of time listening to me complain about Ron when he could have been reading up on ways to tackle the Triwizard tournament. Things were rather hectic last year. Harry seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown most of the time, at least when he wasn't worrying about Cho Chang, and then when Ron and I did get some time alone it just never seemed the right time to say anything. Part of me was just too scared. Silly, isn't it? I'll happily face down a troll or a giant or a basilisk, but put Ron in front of me, prime me to tell him how I feel, and you can forget it. It's just so terrifying. Still, I was put in Gryffindor for a reason. I'm not just a smart girl, I'm supposed to be brave as well. So I'd resolved over the summer to tell him this year, and Harry and Ginny getting together seemed like a good place to start. I decided as we were walking along the corridor that I'd tell him when we got back to the common room. It just hit me that it was the perfect time. I'd just had to put up with Ron at his most unconsciously annoying, and I'd forgiven him within minutes. What more of a sign did I need? How about Snape, Filch, Harry and Ginny all converging on us to spoil the mood? How about a mad dash into the Room of Requirement to escape them all? How about the Room turning into an exact replica of the Weasley's house? This was what Fred and George would call a passion killer. How was I supposed to think about romance with Snape and Filch about to burst in on us and, even worse, a horrible feeling that Mrs Weasley would bustle in from the garden at any moment? Ron certainly took my mind off all that. Unfortunately, he did it by picking a fight. Typical. Pain in the you-know-what, am I? Fine. 'At least I'm in good company, then,' I said. 'What's that supposed to mean?' 'Oh, come on Ron. Don't tell me you haven't noticed. Harry and Ginny have been trying to get away from you all week!' 'Why didn't they just say something then?' 'Because they didn't want to hurt your feelings, that's why! Of course, I should have just told them to go ahead, after all, you have no feelings to hurt!' 'That's nice, coming from Miss Hogwarts: A History is my best friend!' 'It's a better friend than you'll ever be! It doesn't laugh at me behind my back, it doesn't make fun of my interests and it doesn't care who I'm friends with!' 'You think I care who you're friends with? For all I care you can go and hang out with Snape and Malfoy.' 'Maybe I will, at least then I'd be with people who wouldn't need my help with every piece of work they've ever been given!' 'Yeah, and they'd be just as stuck up as you. I'd say it's a perfect match!' 'Fine. If Snape is out there, I can tell him where to find you, shall I?' 'That'd be wonderful, Hermione. Anyone'd be better than having to put up with you all day.' I was so angry I stormed over to the door and grabbed the handle. I didn't care if anyone was outside or not. Anything to get away from Ron. Forget what I said earlier. I don't like him, I hate him! He's the most annoying person ever, and I wouldn't ever forgive him for this. The handle rattled, but the door stayed shut. I put all my weight to it, but it wouldn't move. Were we locked in until Snape and Filch left? I suppose that wasn't such a bad thing, and we had run in there to get away from them. Still, I couldn't help but think that it was a singularly bad time to be locked in a room with Ron Weasley. I decided to try the other door, the one that led outside. That was locked, too. I tried Alohomora on both doors, but nothing worked. 'We're locked in, aren't we?' Ron asked. He had taken a seat at the kitchen table, and looked for all of the world as though he hadn't just had a huge argument with me. 'Yes,' I said grudgingly. 'Well, I suppose it's to be expected. 'We're in the Room of Requirement. We needed to get away from Filch and Snape, so it turned into someplace safe, and it won't let us out until it's safe to go.' I dropped into the seat opposite him. 'Yes, I had worked that out, but thank you.' 'Just doing what you always do,' he said. 'I was wondering why you always state the obvious, and I still don't know.' I didn't want to start the argument again, but he was asking for it. 'I always-' 'Don't, please. I'm sorry,' he said. It's just so disarming, the way he does that. But I wasn't going to let him off as easily as that. 'What are you sorry for?' 'For everything,' he replied. He was staring at the table as he spoke. 'For being an idiot about the S.P.E.W. meeting, for picking fights with you, for patronising you, for acting like you don't have feelings, for saying that you'd get on better with Snape and Malfoy than me. Although I don't suppose I'd blame you if you did. I'm not always the nicest bloke in the world.' Do you see what I meant earlier? I used to be able to stay mad at Ron. I can't, not anymore. He's so much better these days about realising when he's hurt people's feelings, and he apologises straight away. I'm hoping that soon he'll skip the bit where he gets on people's nerves, and then he won't have to apologise. 'You just have to learn to think before you speak, Ron,' I said. He grinned. 'You could try not to think before you speak occasionally. Give someone else a chance to work stuff out. You wouldn't seem anywhere near as much of a know-it-all then.' I couldn't help it. I grinned. It was such a Ron thing to say. Turn an apology into a joke, but I didn't care. Fond as I am of Harry, it's Ron who keeps me going, and Ron I'd miss the most if things went wrong. Impulsively, I reached out and took his hand. 'Ron, there's something I want to say.' He squeezed my hand gently as he looked me in the eye. 'Yeah, me too,' he said. 'You first, then.' I took a deep breath, and decided to take the plunge. 'Ron, you've been my best friend for what seems like forever. I don't know what I'd do without you, and when we argue, I feel like a part of me just dies. I can't stand not having you be around me, and I want to be with you all the time. I don't want us just to be friends anymore, Ron. I want us to be more than that.' For a long moment, he sat there frozen, and then he looked away. I thought I'd spoilt everything, that I'd misread things between us, that what he wanted to say was that he'd fallen for Lavender or something. Then he looked back up at me and he was smiling, and I knew everything was going to be okay. 'It's been four years now,' he said. 'I knew I liked you for so long. I was confused at first, and then I got angry when you didn't seem to feel anything, and then there was the whole mess last year and it was great the way you were there for everyone. You're one of a kind, Hermione Granger. So, you've said your piece, I've pretty much said mine. One last thing, though. Will you go out with me?' I nodded mutely, unwilling to speak because I knew that there'd be nothing but a croak coming out. 'Great,' he said, beaming in a very silly manner. I think I probably looked much the same. 'Now, shall we have another go at getting this door open?' He turned the handle, and it swung open. He grinned. 'Why the big smile?' I asked, well aware that I had one of my own stuck on my face. 'I got something right that you didn't,' he said. 'And what was that?' 'The Room of Requirement didn't give us someplace to hide from Snape and Filch, I knew that wasn't right.' 'What do you mean?' 'When we came in here, and I had my head against the door, I heard Snape and Filch walking away. Besides, there was something else on my mind as we walked past here the first time. It certainly wasn't Snape or Filch.' 'What was it then?' I asked, half hoping. 'This,' he said, letting the door wing shut as he stepped closer to me. And people wonder why I can't stay mad at Ron Weasley... * We made it back to the common room in one piece, even if I was still trembling. Ron had this huge grin on his face that I hoped wouldn't give us away if we bumped into someone. We clambered through the portrait hole, hand in hand, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw someone standing there. Thankfully it was only Harry and Ginny, and they looked quite busy enough to take no notice of us. Ron and I shared a smile as we parted ways. Sometimes people just need a little time alone, I guess. Of course, I looked back at Ron as I was about to go up the stairs to my room. He was standing at the foot of the stairs up to the boy's dormitory. He was pulling a face at me. Honestly, he really is the most annoying person in the world. I spun on my heel and stalked up the staircase towards my room. But I couldn't wait to see him again... The End
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