She silently scolded herself, wondering if she should try and be a little nicer to Ron.
However, memories of how he had acted over the Yule Ball put him at the bottom of the
list for potential love interests.
I should just focus on my studies, she thought and quietly willed herself to go to sleep
where she would absolutely, unquestionably, positively, definitely not have dreams about
Sirius Black.
August 31st, 1995Hermione did not know how to apologise any better than she had already done. It
was not as if she had meant to insult Ron by being shocked that he had received a prefect
badge—though she had, in fact, been quite shocked.
What on earth had he done to become a prefect? Hermione worked so hard for
years to get the badge that she coveted so greatly, and somehow, despite his poor grades,
his habit of rule-breaking, his attitude and disrespect of staff members like Professor Snape,
Ron was deemed worthy to be a prefect?
And her one moment of surprise had, apparently, earned her the cold shoulder and
a glare anytime she was in the same room as him.
Fine. If he wanted to be that way.
"Your brother is a prat," Hermione mumbled to Ginny as she walked down the
stairs to find her friend with her ear against a closed door. Surprisingly, Ginny did not even
jump at the sudden intrusion.
"Which brother? They're all very prattish from time to time, so you'll need to be a
lot more specific."
"Well, I suppose considering everything lately, I should say Percy," Hermione
answered with a frown. Seeing the heartbroken looks on Mr and Mrs Weasley's faces
anytime their estranged son was mentioned was terrible. "But in this case, I meant Ron."
"Oh, he's King of the Prats, didn't you know?" Ginny smirked. "Earned himself the
title when the twins went off to Hogwarts for their first year, leaving only me and ickle
Ronnie behind. 'But, Mummy, I don't want to be with stupid Ginevra,'" Ginny mocked her