Hermione and Ron had argued right at the start of term, that time over Divination.
Ron was very fond of Divination, and Harry had some idea why. Perhaps it was because Trelawney had remarked several times, whether deliberately or casually, that Ron had a real gift.
Although she had said similar things to Lavender and Parvati, she did seem to say them more often to Ron. In particular, the homework Ron handed in after their second lesson had earned Professor Trelawney's praise.
Harry's homework, however, had also been rated outstanding.
And all Harry had written in his homework were predictions of various accidents and misfortunes befalling him.
Harry had read Ron's homework. Well, its style was much like his own. When it came to the specifics, though, there were fairly obvious differences.
As Gryffindor's master storyteller, Ron produced Divination homework with a very clear structure and distinct chains of cause and effect. If the characters in it had not all been their friends, Harry felt he could have read it as a novel.
Although that argument had left the two of them refusing to acknowledge each other for nearly a week, Ron had taken the initiative to speak to Hermione after Dark Magic Defense, and they had made up.
Neither of them had brought up what had happened before.
That was how things usually went between them.
This time, however, Harry thought the argument might get rather fierce, because it concerned Crookshanks and Scabbers.
When Hermione first bought Crookshanks as a pet, Harry and Ron had been utterly baffled. Why would Hermione buy such an ugly cat? For a while, they had even suspected that her taste had become like Hagrid's.
Still, although they thought Crookshanks was ugly, neither of them had said anything.
Quite a few Hogwarts students kept