Hermione and Ron
Chapter 1
Hatred

Summary: There has always been a rivalry between Hermione and Ron, and they'd been friends as long as they could remember. They could never be more than friends...right?

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything involved= J. K. Rowling's (get it)

The Great Hall Monday Afternoon

"Seriously Harry, sometimes I think you're worse than Ron," Hermione said in an exasperated tone as she piled pancakes and bacon onto her plate. Just then Ron walked through the entrance of the Great Hall with a very disgruntled look on his face.

"Okay, maybe your not," she told him.

"What've we got next?" Ron asked as he sat down between Harry and Hermione.

"Double Potions with Slytherin," Harry answered as he pulled the plate of sausages toward himself. Ron groaned; Potions was their least favorite subject, and, to make it even worse, they had to endure the torcher amidst sneers from their least favorite house, Slytherin.

"Would you guys like to help me tonight?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron, "I've figured out how to make patterns." Ron groaned again.

"You're still on about spew?" Ron asked disgustedly.

"It's not 'spew' Ron, it's the Society for Protection of Elfish Welfare (a/n I don't know if that's right, please correct me if I'm wrong)," Hermione snapped reprovingly.

"Hermione," Harry asked cautiously, not wanting to get on her bad side. When it comes to house-elves, she could get nasty. "Isn't it cruel setting house-elves free by tricking them?" Harry was referring to Hormone's newest move to protest against house-elf enslavement. She was knitting hats; putting trash all over them; and hiding them in Gryffindor tower, hoping that a house-elf would pick it up by mistake and be set free.

"Yah," said Ron, not worrying in the least about upsetting Hermione, "They don't want to be free! They're happy!"

"Don't be stupid Ron, who would want to be a slave," Hermione snapped back. Harry sighed, he'd heard it all before.

Hermione and Ron bickered about house-elves all the way to Potions and finally fell silent at the sight of a blonde boy with a pale, pointed face.

"My father's the minister of magic's second hand man," the blonde boy, Draco Malfoy, gloated loudly. "Fudge is always going to him with all the important decisions."

"He only ever got access to the Ministry of Magic by giving them loads of gold," Ron told Harry; Malfoy stiffened.

"My father knows where his loyalties lie," Malfoy said coldly. "He doesn't consort with people who have no value to him...and he would never be caught dead in the presence of a mudblood."

"You'll pay for that one Malfoy!" Ron yelled whipping out his wand.

"At least I'm not a kniving, arrogant, prat," said Hermione. Ron stared open mouthed at her; she'd never fought back with anyone with neither words nor wand.

"Detention for both Granger and Weasley, I think," Harry, Ron, and Hermione spun around to see Professor Snape, the Potions master and head of Slytherin house, standing in the hallway with his curtain of greasy, black hair and his long, crooked nose.
Ron opened his mouth to protest but Harry elbowed him in the ribs; he closed his mouth.

"Wise choice Weasley," sneered Snape, "but that'll be five points from Gryffindor for violence." Malfoy looked like Christmas had come early.
This time it was Harry who needed the elbow in the ribs, but luckily Snape had already swept into the dungeon and Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed.

Author's End Note: Hey! That was a very short chapter and somewhat boring. Next chapter though things will be heated up between Hermione and Ron, and something memorable may happen. I'm not definite, I may do one more chapter before I get to the climax, but probably not. Please review this chapter. I need to have three reviews before I write the next chapter, and I promise you the next on will be good. Thanx O yah, next chapter is going to be called detention, I believe. Remember though, there will be no next chapter unless you guys review.

Courtney Remember, please review!!!