Hermione vented to Kasenhis for nearly a full ten minutes. In those ten minutes, Harry and Neville had long since retreated to other sofas to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Only Ron remained. Whether it was because he felt dodging the situation would be cowardly, or for some other reason, he stubbornly stayed on the same sofa as Hermione.
Though Kasenhis suspected it wasn't about pride — because in those ten minutes, Ron had poured Hermione four cups of tea… and now, a fifth.
Every time Hermione got dry-mouthed from ranting and had to pause, Ron would wordlessly slide another cup toward her right on cue.
"Thanks," Hermione would say after every sip.
Ron, meanwhile, just sat there with his arms folded, refusing to respond as if this would help him maintain the aloof persona he'd just invented for himself.
But each time Hermione's throat dried out, he'd still pour tea and push it over… then cross his arms again and ignore the thanks, back to pretending to be cool and unbothered.
Kasenhis subtly glanced at Harry and Neville, silently asking what was going on here.
Harry returned a knowing look — Kasenhis understood.
When Ron gets moody, it's a headache. But not too much of a headache.
Kasenhis nodded. Clearly, he too chalked up Ron's contradictory behavior to personality quirks.
He knew these four Gryffindor cubs quite well by now. Hermione never hid her feelings — intelligent, strong-willed, kind, and occasionally a little scheming.
Harry's personality seemed soft on the surface — smiling at everyone as long as they weren't enemies — but in reality, he had the toughest temper of the group. Everything had to be discussed with him, and once he set his mind on something, there was no turning back until he hit a wall. If the outcome didn't match his expectations, he'd get angry.
But that anger never spilled over onto others.
Neville was the perfect friend — mild-tempered, good at comforting people, fiercely loyal, and unafraid to point out your mistakes when needed.
And Ron? Ron was of course a very good friend too. He was willing to risk his life with Harry at just eleven years old.
Hermione had failed at the Potions challenge, Neville had his own vendetta against Voldemort, but Ron? He saw the attacking power of those stone chess pieces firsthand — he probably sat on that knight's square fully expecting to die.
But being Ron's friend required a lot of patience, because his personality was full of contradictions.
He grew up in a loving household — maybe not the most doted upon, but Mrs. Weasley poured plenty of love into him.
Still, he often needed Harry — an orphan with every reason to be the sensitive one — to be the one who understood and tolerated him. That's what made being friends with Ron a little exhausting.
But like mentioned earlier, Ron's tantrums might be a hassle, but not a huge one. While he could be sensitive, he was also the softest-hearted of the bunch. If he ended up in a cold war with a friend, it wouldn't even last three days — by the second day, he'd already be reminiscing about the good times.
As for how long a cold war lasted, it really just depended on how long it took for him to fully soften.
Once he reached the point of feeling like he couldn't go on without that friend, he'd go and apologize. Usually by day three or four, they'd be back to normal.
Of course, it's also possible they might cold-shoulder each other for decades due to some twist of fate, and then one day bump into each other on the street.
"Skewers?"
"OK! Let's go!"
Kasenhis understood all too well how many friendships — even ones as close as brothers — slowly fell apart just because of so-called pride. But Ron, with his "screw pride, give me my friend back" attitude… Sure, it might not sound very dignified, but if you ever meet a friend like that, you've seriously hit the jackpot.
And right now, Ron seemed to be on the verge of breaking down — already beginning to apologize with actions. What comes next is unknown, but the final step would likely be a verbal apology.
That's why Kasenhis finally tuned back into Hermione's rant. The root issue was the same:
A commotion between their pets and Trelawney being a crap teacher.
"Uh, I did warn you about Trelawney, though.." Kasenhis said, rubbing his temples, a little exasperated.
"This one's on me, Professor," Hermione admitted. "I didn't listen to your advice, and I already had a hunch I didn't have the talent for Divination. I just wanted to give it a try. I'm not blaming Professor Trelawney for my lack of skill or her weird teaching."
"But Professor — now I really understand how ridiculously good your temper is. Thirteen years of my life, and this is the first time I've seen someone's accidental nonsense be this spectacular! You know that movie Final Destination? The screenwriters for that should seriously consult Professor Trelawney. They could pump out 800 sequels and still sell out every one!"
Kasenhis looked at Hermione, who had clearly been mentally shattered by Professor Trelawney's little death prophecy, then turned, bewildered, to Ron.
"What happened?"
"In short, Professor Trelawney made a prediction," Ron said. "She foresaw Hermione wearing slippers to the library to finish a book, getting dizzy from eye strain, then being tickled by a feather quill that had fallen off the table, and then… getting over-the-shoulder slammed by said quill."
"After the slam, she twisted her ankle, and ended up in the hospital wing, where Draco Malfoy had just arrived after falling off his broom. Then Madam Pomfrey mixed up the Skelegro and Bone-Binding Elixir, so they each drank the other's potion."
"And then Hermione… Well, technically it wasn't a death prophecy, because she didn't die. But she did grow a pair of little horns on her forehead."
After Ron finished, Kasenhis blurted out without thinking, "Was there a tail too?"
"Professor..." Hermione shot him a crescent-eyed glare, her face blank.
"Sorry, sorry," Kasenhis apologized awkwardly.
"...But does drinking Skelegro by mistake actually make someone grow horns?"
"Professor... feel free to try it yourself."
"Er... I totally understand how you feel, Hermione. So, what did you end up doing?" Kasenhis quickly changed the subject.
"I knocked over the crystal ball and threw it on the floor… Honestly, I think I was being too gentle…"
Hermione continued to speak.
Kasenhis responded with a mix of casual comforting and random life tips to help improve her mood.
Meanwhile, Sirius, having confirmed that Ron didn't have a rat on him, lay sprawled helplessly on the carpet.
Previously, he hadn't thought much about it—or rather, his thoughts were simple: just find Peter Pettigrew and, as a dog catching a rat, bite him to death in one go.
But now things were different. Maybe… he could find himself an ally.
Like that cat named Crookshanks.
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