Ron and Hermione

Chapter Eight

Ron

Ron was so freaking excited for the Triwizard Tournament. Him and Harry were planning to sweep some ladies off their feet to go to the Yule Ball. Ron seriously pondered asking Hermione but alas, she hated him. I should have talked to her about it. Ron thought that beating himself up wasn't going to help a thing but he did it anyway because he couldn't believe that he could be so stupid. Hermione was possibly the best thing that ever happened to her. After all of these long years, Ron realized that he and Hermione were meant to be together. Just because he had chosen to be insecure and push Hermione away, he had lost her.

Ron was knocked out of his daze by an excited Harry Potter who was trying to converse with him. "Come in, Ron!" Harry waved a hand in front of Ron.

"What's up, Harry?"

"I want to go see the Goblet of Fire. Your buffoons of brothers are planning to breach the age line tonight with an aging potion. Sure, I think they're both idiots, and sure, I don't think it's going to work because of two very in particular reasons. Number one, they're both idiots as previously stated. And number two, Albus Dumbledore is no fool. If he sets an age line, those two idiotic ginger haired pranksters are going to feel karma's stab in the back. I actually just want to go because I think it'll be hilarious. So, whaddya say? Come with me and watch your brothers make fools of themselves?"

"Yeah....," Ron dazed. "Yeah, sure."

"What's up with you, mate? You've been acting sort of out of it ever since . . ." Harry must've answered his own question as he had stopped talking. "Ron, does this have something to do with 'Mione?" Ron kept walking and chose not to answer Harry's question. "You see, I asked her about it last night and she abruptly pushed me away." Harry felt as if he was now talking to a lifeless mannequin in a shop window. "Or . . . I'll just stay out of it," Harry mumbled to himself, not expecting Ron to be listening.

"Good choice," Ron patted Harry on the back as if he himself had rejoined the world of the living. "Now, let's go watch my brothers make fools out of themselves, shall we?"

***

Harry and Ron entered the room where the Goblet of Fire was being held. The walls reflected the ghastly blue light that the goblet emitted and made the entire room seem the color of blue. Harry and Ron took their seats and watched as two boys of age submitted their names on pieces of paper.

Suddenly, there was a ruckus from outside the room. The sound of calling boys entered the ears of the people inside the room. The mystery was quickly solved when Cedric Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff entered the holding place with his buddies swarming around him. Ron watched as the boys pushed Cedric within the age line. He valiantly put his slip of paper into the cool flames. He had a glimmer in his eyes that almost gave away the fact that he felt afraid. As the blue light reflected onto his face, you could see his eyes flicker with fear. But alas, he submitted his name anyway. After the fearful moment was over, a smile spread across his face and everyone around him clapped including Ron and Harry. Cedric was a good guy and he deserved to be recognized for it. Ron halfway took back that statement when he tried to wave at Cedric but was blatantly ignored as he rejoined his sea of buddies. Ron shook it off and reunited with Harry. "Eternal glory," Ron sighed to Harry. "Would be brilliant, wouldn't it? Three years from now when we're old enough to be chosen."

"Heh, rather you than me," Harry laughed. All of a sudden there was screaming coming from the mouths of none other than Fred and George Weasley.

"YEAHHHHH!" They both screamed as they ran in carrying bottles of aging potion in their hands. People everywhere hollered, cheered, and applauded these wild blockheads like they were kings. "Thank you, thank you," George said as he and Fred gave high fives to the crowd.

"Well alas. . ." Fred said.

"We've done it!" George exclaimed.

"Cooked it up just this morning."

"It's not going to wooooork," Hermione teased the twins. Ron had just now noticed that she'd been sitting there this entire time.

"Oh yeah?" George said. "And why is that, Granger?"

"You see this?" Hermione pointed to the age line. "This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

"So?" Fred asked. Hermione scoffed and slammed her book shut for effect.

"So, a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something pathetically dim-witted as an aging potion."

"Oh but that's why it's so brilliant," Fred said.

"Cause it's so pathetically dim-witted!" George replied.

"Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George." Fred and George stood up and continued to shake up the bottles in their hands. They linked arms.

"Bottoms up," they said in unison as they downed the potion. They jumped into the perimeter of the age line and waited. The crowd waited silently with them. Once a few seconds had passed they cheered along with everybody else. They placed their names into the goblet at the same time and waited some more. Once the goblet had gone undisturbed, the boys cheered and the crowd along with them.

Soon enough fireballs started shooting out of the goblet and struck Fred and George. They flew back in a surge of blue. The entire crowd started to laugh as they grew white hair and white beards on their faces.

"You said-" Fred started.

"You said!" George said back. The twins started fighting and rolling around on the ground like the numbskulls they are. The crowd around them was chanting 'FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!' and so they did. Hermione had two looks on her face. One look was pleasure from being correct. The second was of disgustingness of the chanting around her. She opened her book and remained quiet.

The crowd abruptly went silent as Viktor Krum had entered the platform. He had a determined look on his face and didn't waver for a second. He passed the age line as Hermione looked up from her book. Viktor entered his name and looked at Hermione for a couple of seconds. Which was too long in Ron's book. He wanted to tackle that meaty guy. As he left, the smirk on Hermione's face grew. Ron had faced the truth. Hermione Granger had a crush on Viktor Krum and there was nothing he could do to stop it.