I forgot to say thanks for the comment last time...sorry

After quite a bit of coaxing on all of our parts, Ron managed to consume a reasonable sized breakfast that would at least get him through the Quidditch tryouts without a hungry belly to add to his woes. The four of us headed down the rather long walk across the grounds until the sight of the Quidditch pitches appeared as small dots in our visions.

"Has it always been this far away?" asked Ron, turning to look at Harry.

"Yep, it has," said Harry, giving Ron a reassuring slap on the back.

I could tell that Ron's worst enemy was himself and that if he didn't find a way to calm himself down this was going to be a mortifying experience for everyone involved.

"So, what do you think it will be like...having Professor Snape as our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" asked Hermione, hoping a change of subject would help the mood.

"Can't imagine it'll be any better than what it was like having him in Potions," said Harry with a deep sigh.

"I second that...although I doubt he'll make it past this year anyway," I said with a little shrug.

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Well look at our Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers' track record. It's terrible. Not one teacher has survived more than a year all five years that we've been coming to Hogwarts and I doubt it is going to change this year."

I looked around at all of them, feeling their confusion. I let out a little sigh that made me feel so much like Hermione I had to stifle a laugh.

"Professor Quirrell turned out to have Voldemort in him and died, making him gone after our first year. Our second year was Professor Lockhart who even if he hadn't lost his memory would have been fired for being a fraud anyway, so he was gone after our second year. Professor Lupin was ratted out as a werewolf, so he was gone after that year, and our fourth year was Professor Moody who wasn't really Moody, and now his imposture is rotting in Azkaban with no soul, and last year was Professor Umbridge who so far as we know is in St. Mungo's trying to recover from whatever the centaurs did to her. So, it seems only logical that something will happen to Snape that will make him incapable of filling the post for a second year."

After a long pause from all of them Harry gave me a little rub on the shoulder. "You know, I think you're on to something."

"I do have to admit, the history is hard to ignore," said Hermione with a slight frown.

"If you think about it, that position has more bad luck than we do!" said Ron with a slight grin.

The four of us chuckled slightly, not realizing that we were now right in front of the Quidditch pitch. Ron stopped laughing, and his face took on a slightly green tint.

"Well good luck Ron," I said, giving him a reassuring squeeze of the arm. "Just concentrate on the quaffle and you'll do brilliantly!"

"Thanks Abby," mumbled Ron with a meek grin.

"We'll be in the stands for support," said Hermione, the wave of her desire to comfort Ron so strong I thought I was going to reach out myself and hug him. Deciding to prevent the situation from getting more awkward or tense for Ron, I took hold of Hermione's hand and led her towards the stands.

"He'll be okay, won't he?" asked Hermione, looking over her shoulder.

"Harry is there...he'll be fine," I said with a little smile.

Hermione and I took a seat closer to middle of the stand, since we were uncertain as to which set of hoops Ron was going to be defending. Ginny along with several others were already down on the field, Ginny giving us a wave and a thumbs up when she saw us.

"Stupid sports," mumbled Hermione.

"He's going to be fine," I said, shooting her an exasperated look.

"Easy for you to say! Harry was a natural seeker!"

"That doesn't mean he doesn't get nervous! Trust me, Ron will learn to control the nerves just like Harry does."

Hermione stared at me for a couple of moments before giving me an apologetic smirk.

"It's alright," I said, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and giving her a little squeeze.

I was about to offer more reassurances when I caught such a forceful wave of hope, admiration, and longing that it nearly brought me to tears.

"Are you alright?" asked Hermione, looking at my slightly teary-eyed eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I just..."

I leaned forward in the bleachers, looking to where the feeling was coming from and I couldn't stop my mouth from falling open.

"What is it?" asked Hermione, about to say something when her eyes landed on Lavender Brown.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said, shooting me a furious look.

Lavender had her eyes on Ron with a kind of fierce longing that one usually associated with crazy people that were convinced that something either belonged to them or didn't belong to anyone at all. The whole "if I can't have you then no one can" look.

"Looks like you've got some competition," I said, giving Hermione an elbow to the ribs.

"Oh please. Ron would never be interested in someone like her," said Hermione, complete confidence in her voice, but I could feel it faltering. "I mean, he wouldn't be right?" asked Hermione, looking to me for reassurance.

"No, of course not," I said, giving her a little pat on the hand. Of course I had to admit that kind of adoration was hard for anyone to ignore or not at least appreciate a little.