Hermione Granger.
Every morning, Ron woke up and looked forward to seeing her cheerful face. Every night, he went to sleep with the happy thought that he would see her again in less than ten hours. But at the moment, Ron needed to say something that could change all of it. He might be ruining the wonderful friendship that had slowly blossomed and stayed healthy and thriving for almost seven years. He didn't want their closeness to shrivel up and die.
But it was necessary that this was said. Ron thought he would burst if it wasn't let out of his brain.
Sighing, he trudged to the table. "The sooner I can get it over with, the better," he muttered under his breath, putting some pork chops on his plate.
"What was that, Ron?"
Ron turned and saw Hermione, in the flesh, right down (up?) to her bushy-haired head. He could feel his face flame a bright red.
"Nothing," he mumbled, shoving down his pork chops at top speed to avoid making a fool of himself, as he usually did. Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down opposite him. Nonetheless, she smiled at his method of "fast food".
Ron felt his insides writhing around in his body. Forget the butterflies-there were full grown hippogriffs flapping around in his stomach. He grinned weakly at her and returned to his pork chops with a heavy heart. It might be the last time they ever smiled at each other again.
Ron stuffed his chops down his throat as fast as possible. He really didn’t want his friendship with Hermione to end sooner than necessary, but if he didn’t say what he wanted to, he probably never would.
Ron stared at Hermione from the very corner of his eye as she held a conversation with Bill and Fleur, who was officially his wife (the wedding had taken place three weeks ago). He watched her peach lips move up, down, and around as she rapidly spoke. Ron noticed that she never paused; she didn’t need more then half a second to think of the next brilliantly intelligent thing to say. He studied her eyes, and noticed a tiny crinkle moving around next to her eye. Blimey! Ron thought as he continued to study Hermione. Why does she eat so blummin' slowly??!! And she doesn’t need to talk so much, either! It’s only going to make this harder!
“Hurry up Hermione!” Ron mumbled under his breath
“Did you say something Ron?”
Ron’s eyes widened; he hadn’t realized he said that out loud.
Say something, you idiot!
“Oh! Erm…nothing, Hermione.”
Perfect. Absolutely brilliant, you’re choice of words are. Hopeless prat.
This was beginning to bother Hermione. She could tell that something was bothering Ron, but she knew him too well to think that he was going to tell her. Hermione gave Ron a worried look, which he ignored. She went back to her conversation with Bill and Fleur, with only half of her mind really in it.
Hermione forked her last piece of pork chop into her mouth. Before she could start up a new conversation, Ron mustered up all of his courage and spoke loudly in a way Fleur recognized from her time at Hogwarts in her 7th year during the Triwizard Tournament,
“Hermione, I, I need to talk to you.” Before she could say another word he grabbed her arm and walked her out of the Weasley’s kitchen, and went upstairs into their dusty library.
“What is it, Ron?” Hermione asked along the way, but he said nothing. He wouldn’t talk until they were up in the library, the door bolted shut, surrounded by grimy, unused books. Hermione looked around her in awe. She had never known the Weasley’s kept so many books! She was itching to read one-a book in particular called Mysterious and Cursed Runes of Cairo and Alexandria, Volume 1 caught her eye. But she faced Ron, anxiously waiting to hear what he had to say. The book could wait, but it seemed that what Ron was about to say needed to be said now.
“Hermione,” Ron said, not meeting her eyes “we’ve known each other for seven years now.” For this, he looked into her eyes. Deeply. This was too important for him not to. “And, well, we’ve been through a lot. Like, in our first year, we hated each other in the beginning (but not really), well, because you were such a know-it-all and, well, I wasn’t. Heck, I’m still not. I probably never will be.”
Hermione bit her lip, wondering what he was getting at.
“Then, on Halloween, Quirrell let that stupid troll in the castle, and you could have died. Come to think of it, it was mainly my fault, because I was a gormless prat, and said all those things about you. But luckily, because of your know-it-all…ness, Harry and I were able to save you. (Why did I mention Harry? I really should not have mentioned Harry) And then, you were such a tremendous help in everything that we did down in that chamber in the third floor where the Sorcerer’s Stone was hidden, and Volde…mort (phew) would probably have come back to power…earlier if it hadn’t been for you. Then, in year two, we had all sorts of problems in school. You remember. Everyone had thought that Harry was the heir of Slytherin, because he talked to that snake that Malfoy conjured up, and everyone else heard him speak Parseltongue, and they made wrong assumptions. We had originally thought that Malfoy was the heir, and you being the smartest person ever knew about the Polyjuice potion, and brewed it…” Ron’s talking had turned into useless babble.
Hermione had stopped listening after Ron said “Then, in year two.” She couldn’t understand what he was possibly trying to say. Really, all she wanted to do was grab the rune book and go find an armchair. But Ron was trying to say something. Hermione guessed that he was going to go through their six years in Hogwarts, in full detail. Eventually, somewhere in the middle of Ron dictating Year Two, she figured it out. Despite the fact that Ron really was trying to get to the point, Hermione didn’t want to hear anymore. She understood. But, it seemed, he didn’t. Hermione tried to get him to stop his nattering.
“Ron-”
“Wait, Hermione, let me finish. I’m trying to tell you something. That time you got petrified was the time that I needed you the most that year…Harry needed you too…”
“Ron?”
“Hermione, wait! Give me a few minutes. This is really hard for me to say! You can’t possibly understand. But I’ll make you, don’t worry. When Harry and I went down into the Chamber of Secrets, I had really, really wished that you were there. Harry was off fighting Riddle and I needed to have you there instead of Lockhart. Especially since Lockhart really didn’t have any memory about anything whatsoever. And, take it from a person who knows, a guy who thinks you live in a sewer and eat grimy skeletons for dinner really isn’t much of a comfort, especially since you are scared to death-”
“RON!?”
“HERMIONE, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO WAIT FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES? I’M ALMOST DONE HERE! WHEN YOU BECAME UN - PERTRIFIED IT WAS A GREAT RELIEF, AND EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T HUG YOU, I WAS STILL HAPPY BEYOND BELIEF…why am I shouting? So, even though I didn’t hug you, I was still immensely-”
“RONALD!!!”
“WHAT, HERMIONE? WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU COULD YOU NOT WAIT FIVE MINUTES TO TELL-”
*Slap*
Ron received a smart smack across the face. It was so sharply delivered he felt his face to check that all of his freckles remained. Hermione was staring at him with an odd -expression on her face. A corner of her mouth twitched. Slowly, she put her hands on Ron’s shoulders and pulled him towards her.
Before Ron realized what had just happened, Hermione was kissing him. It was a long kiss. A serious kiss. A kiss that both had been waiting to give and receive since they first met eyes on the Hogwarts Express. It was anything but gentle; after waiting seven years to get this started, they were not about to waste any time starting slow. Eventually, Hermione pulled away, breathing heavily. Ron was also having similar respiratory problems. It was a wonderful feeling that both had been waiting for since they were eleven years old.
They both smiled at each other until Ron said,
“Well. I suppose that sums it up now, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, that would do it.” Hermione gazed at Ron and saw the dirty-nosed boy standing before her. The same one she had fallen in love with on the Hogwarts Express. Oddly enough, he had not changed. Ron put his hands gently around her waist and pulled her into another lusty kiss.
This went on for who knows how long, but eventually, Molly Weasley’s carrying voice entered the musty library.
“Off to bed now children. Fred, George that means you, too. Enough butterbeer. You’ll be drunker than Mundungus if you have any more. God knows that was half the reason he got arrested… “
“But Mum, we’re not children any more, we’re legally adults in the wizarding world.”
“Yeah Mum. Adults.”
“Well, you’re still MY children, so off to bed with the lot of you.”
“Ron, wait!” Hermione exclaimed, sounding slightly panicky. “We…we can’t tell Harry or Ginny.”
“Why not?” Ron stroked her hair gently. He loved how he was able to do it without worrying.
“Ron…I don’t know if you know this, but…Harry broke up with Ginny-”
“WHAT?! WHAT?! I’ll MURDER HIM! HOW DARE HE HURT GINNY! I SWEAR, THAT GUY HAS PULLED ONE TOO MANY DRAWSTRINGS! THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM-“
“Ron,” Hermione said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Please. Harry really never wanted to end it with Ginny. He only did it because…well…Voldemort’s after him now, and he didn’t want Ginny to be in any danger, you know. He only did it because he loves her. He really does. He loves her too much to ever do anything that would hurt her.” Hermione’s eye glistened ever so faintly with tears.
Ron put his hands in his pockets, looking at the ground. It did seem to make sense. He wondered why he had ever doubted Harry.
“The point is, Ron,” Hermione continued, her voice wavering, “they’re heartbroken. Both of them. They really didn’t want to end their relationship, but it was necessary. It had to be done, Ron. If they see us in this happy relationship…it’ll kill them, Ron.”
Ron nodded. “I suppose you’re right, Hermione. But it really won’t be easy. The four of us spend a lot of time together. Won’t it look suspicious if we keep wandering off?”
“Maybe. But I’d really like to be part of a relationship with you, Ron. I think we can manage.”
Hermione kissed the corner of Ron’s mouth ever so gently. “’Night, Ron.”
“Good night, ‘Mione.” He hugged her tightly and unlocked the door. The two made their way to their rooms.
“Hey, Ron,” Harry said with a forced smile as Ron walked into the room. “What took you so long? You were with Hermione for awhile.”
“Oh, erm…nothing really. Just friendly chat,” Ron said. He sounded a little curter than he had intended to. “I’m going to bed. ‘Night, Harry.”
“’Night.”
Ron dosed off eventually, dreaming wonderful dreams that had finally become reality. Harry stayed awake. He couldn’t sleep. The tension between Ginny and him was so taut; they could hardly stay in the same room together. Harry was bothered by the known fact that it was him who had pulled them out of their happiness and landed them into a huge mess. It was like dragging a fish out of water. A lone tear slid down Harry’s cheek. When would this all be put right?
“Hi, Hermione,” said Ginny with a forced smile as Hermione walked into the room. “You’ve been gone forever. What were you and Ron talking about for so long?”
“Oh…umm…nothing much. Only everything we’re are going to miss out on by not going to our last year at Hogwarts. Right, I’m really tired…I’ll see you in the morning…‘night, Ginny.”
Ginny didn’t answer, but a sob escaped her throat. Hermione hurried over and gave her a sisterly hug.
“Don’t worry, Ginny, everything will be okay,” Hermione said over and over, patting Ginny on the back. This only made her cry harder. Ginny had always longed for a sister (truth be told, her mother got quite embarrassing when it came to girl talk) but, instead, she had gotten stuck with six brothers.
Harry would never understand how much he had hurt her. Her heart was forever labeled with a long gash from his piercing words at Dumbledore’s funeral. Every heartbeat had a bit of sorrow in it. It was especially when she saw Harry or spoke of him that the welt festered up and hurt again.
Why were guys so dense?
“Ron, wake up,” Harry said, shaking him. He really needed to tell Ron something, and the sooner the better.
“Ron!” Harry gave him a shove. “Get up.”
“Mmmm-ba…dam-mumma…” Ron mumbled. Harry began getting frustrated.
“Ron!” Harry gave him a hard kick, but Ron merely turned around. “Ron, get up, you useless git, this is important-”
“Did you try telling him that?” said a quiet voice. Harry turned around, and saw Ginny standing outside the door, in a silky green nightgown.
“Um…” Harry said thickly. It was all he could say-the nightgown was quite short.
“Well…” Ginny said awkwardly. She stared at Harry for a moment, then turned and walked away. She had to, before Harry had caught her staring. He was the only guy she had ever met who didn’t wear a shirt to bed…not that she minded much.
Harry gazed at the door, and shook his head fiercely.
“Ronald,” he said, trying to pull off a feminine French accent. “I ‘ave to tell you something, eet ees quite eemportant, please wake up! Eye shall be devastated, poseeteevely devastated eef you do not - “
Ron bolted upward, eyes half-shut. “Wuzzamatter?” he asked
sleepily.
Harry laughed. “Ron, seriously. Get up,” Harry said, pulling on a t-shirt. Ron dragged himself out of bed, rubbing his eyes.
“Why the big hurry, mate?” Ron yawned, pushing his sheets haphazardly onto his bed. “Usually I wake up around ten at the earliest “ “
“
Ron, I need to tell you something, er, it’s kind of important.” Harry moved towards the door, and then turned around. “Just hurry up.” He left the room without another word. Ron could sense the urgency in his voice and hurried to dress as rapidly as possible.
By the time Ron had made it downstairs, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had assembled in the living room, Hermione on the loveseat, Harry and Ginny awkwardly seated on a couch. Ron thought about sitting next to Hermione, as he preferred to do, but took in consideration the fact that Harry was his best friend, and needed serious help with his romantic relationship.
Thankfully, Ron was no longer able to say the same about himself.
“Move over, Harry,” Ron said, walking towards the couch. He nudged Harry to the middle of the couch and sat next to him. He could feel Harry’s discomfort rising and was slightly glad. He looked over to Hermione and felt a stupid grin spread over his face, recalling the events of the night before. Hermione beamed at him, looking slightly dazed.
“So, erm…” Harry began. He couldn’t bear to look at the girl he loved, knowing he would not be able to hug and kiss her like he wanted to.
“What…what is it…Harry?” asked Ginny. She was finding it extremely hard to look him in the eye, so she gaped at a moth“eaten cushion, finding more interest in it than she would find in a book about Voldemort’s secret hiding places.
Ron and Hermione said in unison,
“Just tell us, Harry!” Their voices gently molded into another, sounding like a five “ star orchestra. Ron and Hermione smiled happily to themselves at how wonderful their voices could sound.
“Well, I…I’ve decided to stay at Hogwarts for our seventh year -”
His words were interrupted by a shriek of joy from Hermione. She lunged out of the loveseat and pounced on Harry, screaming her head off.
“HARRY! Thank goodness, I was hoping you’d say that “ “
“Good choice, mate,” Ron said, moving to smack Harry across the back.
Ginny just grinned ecstatically.
“Come on, Hermione,” Ron said, dragging her off of Harry “ she was still saying,
“Harry, now you won’t have to miss your N.E.W.Ts! Oh, don’t you feel so lucky?”
“Hermione, the smell of scrambled eggs beckons,” Ron said, pulling her in the direction of the kitchen. “Come on." Besides, Harry and Ginny could use some alone time.
So could Ron and Hermione.
Laughing, Ron pulled Hermione into the thankfully empty kitchen, shutting the door behind him.
Ginny waited until the kitchen door had shut before turning around and throwing her arms around Harry. She began to pull out of the hug, but paused, and hugged him again. The two stayed that way for awhile, sitting on the couch, their arms around each other. Harry could feel Ginny trembling slightly and wondered if she was crying. Eventually, she pulled away from him, her eyes brimming. Slowly, she tentatively placed her lips on Harry’s, and then jerked away, as if electrocuted. Then, she began to talk very fast, twisting her shirt up.
“Harry, I’m so sorry, I know that I really shouldn’t have done that, and I know that He - Who… Voldemort…will probably find some way to use this against us, but I can’t go on without…
Harry, without allowing her to finished, grabbed her and kissed her. Ginny lost all sense as Harry’s movements increased in fervor “ they were quick and forceful. He eventually yanked himself from her grasp, holding on to her shoulders. Ginny’s head wobbled slightly from shock, like a flower too large for its stem.
“I know exactly how you feel,” he said, grinning slyly at her. She giggled weakly and kissed him again.
Snogging really does make time fly “ it seemed only a minute before Molly Weasley’s earsplitting voice yelled:
“Breakfast! Everyone get over here…RIGHT NOW!”
Harry got up from the sofa, but Ginny held him back.
“Harry?” she said softly, her voice slightly slurred. “Don’t “ don’t tell anybody.”
Harry was confused “ though probably not as confused as Ginny was. He sat back down. “What are you saying?” he asked slowly.
“Harry, we can’t tell anyone about this “ us, I mean.”
“Why not?”
“I “ “
Harry watched, slightly shocked, as Ginny fell backward against the sofa, giggling madly. He patted her shoulder gently, trying to calm her down. Perhaps he had been a bit harsh, he thought worriedly, rubbing her back until the giggles quieted.
When Ginny had composed herself, she said, “What if He “ Who - Must…Vol…de…mort (phew) takes over someone that we tell? He could use that information against you by harming me! The fewer people that knows about us, the better.”
Harry seemed doubtful, so Ginny added, “Besides, don’t you think Hermione and Ron will feel even a little bit upset that we’re together and they’re not? I, for one, refuse to hurt my friends or my brother. So, I guess…lying…might be the best thing to do. For a little while, anyway.”
“Ok.” Harry said, hugging her tightly and starting up the giggles again. “By the way, Ginny…I am so sorry I ever broke you’re heart.”
“Don’t worry about it much, Harry,” Ginny said. “I knew you too well to think you were going to leave me!” She swayed back and forth, laughing gleefully. Sighing slightly, yet grinning madly all the same, Harry hauled Ginny to the kitchen, who was positively howling with merriment.
Lavender stood in front of her bathroom mirror, trying on a cropped lavender shirt with a wide, low V “ neck. She pulled the excess material from the sides so that the top stretched taut over her chest. She pulled her wand out of the pocket of her cropped spandex pants and tapped it on the shirt, removing the shirt of all extra material. True, she couldn’t exactly breathe; however, it was part of the look she was trying to create. Satisfied with the work done, she walked into her bedroom.
Lavender Brown’s room was - what else? - lavender. Not just lavender walls, but a lavender bed spread, lavender stuffed animals, lavender bed, lavender everything. All of her clothes were extremely revealing, and most of her tops were lavender. It is plainly seen that the name Lavender suits Lavender Brown very nicely.
Lavender flopped on her bed and lay amongst the lavender satin for a brief moment. Then, she rolled over so that she was facing her nightstand, on which two picture frames stood amongst hairclips, combs, and bottles of perfume. Lavender blew a kiss to the first, containing a picture of a tall, freckly, red “ headed boy, and picked up the second, hugging it close. This second picture frame bordered a photo of a strapping boy with messy black hair and round glasses.
Lavender had had crushes on Harry Potter and Ron Weasley since she was thirteen. She would do almost anything to date one of them, and she probably would do anything to date both. In the past, this had seemed a bit tough to do. But it wouldn’t be a problem now “ considering the circumstances. True, Harry had started going out with Ginny Weasley last year, and it was obvious that Ron was completely besotted with Hermione Granger…but Lavender felt she could deal with that, even though Ron had dumped her for Hermione. If Ron and Hermione hadn’t gotten together by now, they probably never would. And it would be child’s play to get Ginny to fall for another guy. Even Lavender would readily admit she was too pretty for her own good.
Lavender placed Harry’s photo back on her nightstand and sank into a blissful daydream…
Harry had her on a large, maple “ wood table. She was locked firmly in his loving grasp. His lips traced her face, stinging slightly like a massage. Shirts were such nuisances…The couple eventually rid themselves of their tops, still kissing…
Lavender sighed happily. Ron would look equally as good in that position. She picked up her stuffed hippogriff and gave it a toss in the air.
“HA!” she exclaimed, catching the purple hippogriff. “Ron and Harry will be my easiest targets yet. Hippy, I’ll buy you a new girlfriend if I get with both guys by New Year’s! Let the games begin!”
A/N: I realize that most of what Ron says doesn’t truly make sense and it’s very grammatically incorrect, but that’s kind of the point when he’s talking to Hermione, remember, he’s a nervous wreck. Don’t worry people, Fred and George will get more…interesting later in the story. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!