Author's Note: This is my first story so if you like, let me know and constructive criticism is always welcome!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter of course belongs to J.K. Rowling

Hermione sat on the stands watching the Quidditch try-outs. She didn't particularly care for it, but she did want to be supportive of Harry being the new captain and she also wanted to support Ginny and Ron trying out for Chaser and Keeper, respectively. She was hoping Ron would realize the effort she was putting in to be near him. Although as soon as the thought entered her mind, she dismissed it, telling herself that he never noticed the extra attention she paid him. It saddened her, because she really did care for him, but she was beginning to think that things would never happen between her and Ron. She wasn't pretty like Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil, she bossed him around, she corrected him a lot... Surely he was turned off by all of that. Maybe she'd imagined it, but she could've sworn that she caught him staring at her a couple of times during her stay at the Burrow. Of course, that was just wishful thinking, he could never stare at her. Especially not since he'd seen her in her pajamas, with toothpaste on her face. No, Ron Weasley could never like a girl like Hermione Granger. He was tall, muscular, handsome, funny... And those eyes, those beautiful, blue eyes...

Lately she found herself getting more and more distracted by them every time she looked at him. It was quite embarrassing to be honest; she'd often had to ask him to repeat what he was saying simply because she was paying no attention to his words, only fantasizing about what it would be like if they were couple. She fantasized a lot about him. It was always the same sort of fantasy; he'd come in the room while she was reading, brush her hair out of her face, and kiss her. Or when he grazed her arm or leg (accidentally) she'd wonder what it would be like if he touched more affectionally. One time, when he stroked her arm, she'd felt so light-headed she could hardly breathe, but the moment was soon interrupted when Mrs. Weasley had entered the room, asking Ron to finish his chores. That night, before she finally fell asleep, she kept asking herself what could've happened if Mrs. Weasley hadn't come in... Would she have finally felt his lips on hers? Would he declare his feelings for her? Did he even have feelings for her? Her feelings were nearly driving her insane, but she couldn't escape him, even if she tried. Not that she'd want to, she really enjoyed his company, even though they bickered quite a lot. As long as she got to spend time with him, she didn't really care what they were doing or talking about.

Hermione had always thought herself to be above 'crushing' on boys, like Parvati and Lavender seemed to be doing all the time. She knew she could spend her time better on studying and improving her magic. But now, even while she was reading 'Hogwarts, A History' she found her thoughts constantly wandering to the boy with the fiery red hair. In Potions the other day, while describing the use of Amortentia, she'd been smelling things that so obviously reminded her of Ron. Again, she embarrassed herself, this time publicly. On the one hand, she felt relieved that he hadn't noticed her little slip-up, but on the other hand she felt annoyed; wasn't it obvious that she liked him? Boys could be so frustrating! She knew that from the little mishap in Fourth year, when he had asked her to the Yule Ball as a last resort. She smiled slightly when she thought of how confused he looked after she'd yelled at him. It was always endearing to see the look on his face when she was mad at him. He was just generally endearing, to be perfectly honest.

Then she noticed the try-outs had begun and thought it polite to at least pay attention to Ginny as she soared through the air. It amazed her how good Ron's little sister was on a broom. She looked fierce, fearless, determined to get the Quaffle into the golden hoops. Like a true lioness. Hermione occasionally found herself a tad jealous of Ginny; she was very pretty indeed, smart and definitely not afraid to speak her mind. Plus, she was so much fun to be around. She was the perfect girl. Harry would definitely agree to that. He seemed to pay a lot more attention to Ginny than any of the other Gryffindors trying to impress him. Harry seemed to pay a lot more attention to Ginny in general. Anyone could see he was smitten with her. Too bad she was with Dean. She and Harry would make a really nice couple. Plus it would be funny to see how Ron would handle his best friend dating his little sister. He certainly didn't like Dean as much anymore now that he had repeatedly caught them snogging. That made her think... Did people think she and Ron would make a cute couple? Or was she not good enough for him? She wasn't pretty like Ginny, but she was definitely better looking than Pansy Parkinson right? But then again, she wasn't as well-developed as Lavender or Parvati, and she had repeatedly caught Ron stealing a glance at their chests. Maybe she should just try to stop thinking of Ron in that way, and just enjoy her friends playing Quidditch. She laughed slightly at this thought; she never enjoyed the game.

Her thoughts were interrupted once again when she saw Ron and Cormac McLaggen fly up to the hoops; it was finally time for the Keeper try-outs. Harry quickly explained the rules (Ginny would throw five Quaffles at them and the one who stopped the most would be Gryffindor's new Keeper) and they got started. Cormac and Ron both stopped the first four balls, but she could see that Ron was really nervous and she was afraid he'd miss the last one. She knew Cormac would never miss, and she thought Ron deserved to be Keeper. What she was about to do next was against the rules, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to help him out a bit. She cast a Confundus Charm on Cormac, and he shot in the opposite direction of the Quaffle, so it could go through the hoop. She smiled at her little success hoped that no one had noticed her casting the spell. Her smile grew much wider the instant Ron caught the last ball, indicating his new position as Keeper. Cormac was furious, accusing Ginny of going easy on her brother, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him. Mostly, she was laughing because Ron looked so surprised at his own achievement, she didn't think it had actually sunk in with him that he'd won. She made a mental note to try and get him alone later in the evening to personally congratulate him. Maybe she could even work up the courage to kiss him...