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A grin of contentment spread across Ron Weasley's face as he ran his hand through his hair. He almost didn't care that the O.W.L.s were so close and that he was supposed to be studying. This was a nearly perfect day, no classes, the sun was shining bright through the window of the common room, and, you know, he had won the Quidditch Cup!
He looked over at his two friends, the grin still on his face, but found that neither one of them was paying attention. Hermione had her nose buried in a book and Harry was looking off in the distance, an odd expression on his face.
With a small pang of guilt, Ron wished that Harry wasn't there. Ever since Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup he'd been dying to hear what Hermione thought of the whole thing. Granted she didn't know much about Quidditch but she should say something nice, especially about that save in the last minutes of the game. "You were splendid Ron!" Was that too much to ask?
Unfortunately, Ron admitted to himself, that wasn't all that he wanted. He wanted more. He was such a fool around her. He could never find the right thing to say or do the right thing. He was looking at her the other day in Charms, thinking how soft her hair looked when he accidently shot pink glitter out of his wand and it landed on everyone including a very surprised Professor Flitwick. Every time she looked at him she had this look on her face, like he was ridiculous. He wanted her to see him at his best and she had! She had seen him make all those saves! If anything would make her like him, this would. Not that she didn't like him, she was his friend after all, but recently Ron wasn't content with just being her friend. He wanted to be her best friend. The person she thought of first when she woke up, the first person to make her laugh when she was down. He wanted to be... first. Something Ron had never been in his entire life.
He wanted her to like him, to care about him, to look at him and not think that he was an absolute loser. There were times that he thought she might like him, like that. There were times, when they were walking side by side, that their hands brushed one another and when he looked up at her to mumble an apology he could see pink in her cheeks. And then she had kissed him on the cheek before his first Quidditch match.
Ron had wondered as was being carried by jubilant Gryffindors what she might do now that he had won the Quidditch cup. Like hug him or praise him or even maybe... maybe kiss him properly...on the lips. He was sorely disappointed. Hermione didn't do anything. No matter how many times he brought up the match Hermione didn't say or do anything. She was strangely quiet about the whole thing. So was Harry, come to think of it. Damnit! Ron knew Hermione didn't know a whole lot about Quidditch, but she had to be a little impressed by it. Why else would she have gone out with Krum?
So as they were walking out to the lake, with the sun warm on his face and Hermione right beside him, he couldn't help but recount the whole match again. Even when they had settled under the beech tree and Hermione looked deep in the midst of a particularly hard Arithmancy problem, he kept going, hoping that on some level, she was listening to him.
"Well, I mean, I'd already let in that one of Davies's, so I wasn't feeling that confident, but I dunno, when Bradley came toward me, just out of nowhere, I thought – you can do this! And I had about a second to decide which way to fly, you know, because he looked like he was aiming for the right goal hoop – my right, obviously, his left – but I had a funny feeling that he was feinting, and so I took the chance and flew left – his right, I mean – and – well – you saw what happened."
Come on Hermione, say something! Anything! Please! He silently willed. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, looking around a bit.
"And then, when Chambers came at me about five minutes later –" Ron stopped short, noticing Harry grinning at him. "What? Why are you grinning?"
"I'm not," said Harry, looking back at his text book. Ron shot him a suspicious look but he didn't seem to notice. "I'm just glad we won, that's all."
"Yeah, we won." How ever many times Ron said it, he still almost couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true.
"Did you see the look on Chang's face when Ginny got the snitch right out from under her nose?" he asked, smiling slightly. He was secretly glad that Ginny had outdone that water-fountain of a girl.
"I suppose she cried, did she?" asked Harry.
"Well, yeah – more out of temper than anything, though..." He looked at Harry questioningly, it was not like him to miss things going on around him, especially not at a Quidditch match, especially when it came to Cho Chang. "But you saw her chuck her broom away when she got back to the ground, didn't you?"
"Er-" said Harry, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Well, actually... no, Ron," Ron's head whipped around to see Hermione, finally putting down her book and looking at him. "As a matter of fact, the only bit of the match that Harry and I saw was Davies's first goal."
Ron had never been so disappointed in his life.
"You didn't watch? You didn't see me make any of those saves?" He almost felt like crying, but he wouldn't. The one time he got to be the hero, Hermione wasn't there to see it. Why wasn't she at the game? She had never missed one of Harry's games.
"Well – no," Hermione reached out and laid a hand on his arm. It took all of his strength to focus on what she was saying and not the fact that she was touching him. "But Ron, we didn't want to leave – we had to!"
There was no possible scenario where Ron could imagine Harry and Hermione having to leave the pitch. "Yeah? How come?
"It was Hagrid," Ron turned toward Harry once more, the quick movement dislodging Hermione's hand from his arm. He felt a strange sense of loss. "He decided to tell us why he's been covered with injuries ever since he got back from the giants. He wanted us to go into the forest with him, we had no choice, you know how he gets... Anyway..."
Ron was still slightly mad and disappointed by the time Harry had finished telling him about Grawp, but most of him was occupied with worrying about the giant Hagrid was keeping tied-up in the Forbidden Forest.
"He brought one back and hid it in the forest?" He prayed that Harry was playing a joke on him.
"Yep."
"No. No, he cant have..."
"Well, he has. Grawp's about sixteen feet tall, enjoys ripping up twenty-foot pine trees, and knows me as Hermy."
Ron didn't like this joke anymore.
"And he wants us to...?"
"Teach him English, yeah."
"He's lost his mind." Hagrid wanted Hermione and Harry to go look in on a giant? Was he insane? They'd get eaten alive.
"Yes," said Hermione returning to her book. "Yes, I'm starting to think he has, But unfortunately, he made Harry and me promise."
"Well, you're just going to have to break your promise, that's all."
Ron's temper was rising. He couldn't stand it if Hermione got hurt all because Hagrid had a soft spot for things that could kill, claw, maim and bite people. He also wasn't feeling too kindly toward Hagrid after he had stolen Harry and Hermione away from witnessing the most spectacular moment of his life. He tried to use logic that Hermione would appreciate.
"I mean, come on... We've got exams and we're about that far from being chucked out as it is. And anyway... remember Norbert? Remember Aragog? Have we ever come off better for mixing with any of Hagrid's monster mates?"
"I know, it's just that – we promised."
Ron looked at Hermione in awe. He knew there was no getting around it, if Hagrid got sacked, she was going to visit Grawp. Hermione was loyal to a fault. It was because of her unfailing loyalty that she put up with him day after day and year after year with all of the mistakes he made. Ron sighed and ran his hand through his hair again.
"Well, Hagrid hadn't be sacked yet, has he? He's hung on this long, maybe he'll hang on till the end of term and we won't have to go near Grawp at all." He looked down at his book for the first time since they had come out to the grounds and the discussion was over.
They spent the rest of their time in comfortable silence, each working on memorizing spells and trying to predict essay questions. Ron threw a few furtive glances at Hermione, who was as unwaveringly studious as ever. He still couldn't believe that she had missed seeing him at his best. He would never have another game like that in a million years.
Just as the sun was starting to set, Harry stood up.
"Dinner's about to be served, I expect," he said, stretching his arms over his head. "We'd better head in."
"You can go on without me Harry, I just need a few more minutes." said Hermione, not even looking up from her book.
Harry looked at Ron expectantly.
Ron saw his opportunity and took it. "I'll uh... catch up with you," he said.
Harry's brow furrowed as he looked at Ron. Ron knew it was a slight departure from tradition, it wasn't like Ron to be late for a meal or not quit studying the moment that he could. Thankfully Harry just shrugged, gathered up his books and started off toward the castle.
Ron stared out at the setting sun reflected on the lake and gave a small sigh. It really was a beautiful day.
"It's lovely isn't it?"
Ron looked over, Hermione had quietly closed her book and was now staring out at the lake's smooth, blue surface glittering with orange and gold.
"Yeah," said Ron, a little nervous now that he was actually alone with Hermione in such a romantic setting. He stood up and stretched a little. "You ready to go in?"
"Almost." She stood up as well and turned to face him. She looked pretty with the buttery glow of the sun shining on her hair and cheek. Ron swallowed nervously, suddenly his throat felt very dry.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't stay and watch the match." She said, surprising him. "I wish I could have seen it."
She looked so sincere and so pretty that Ron had trouble finding words to form a sentence.
"It's alright," he said, shrugging. "I mean, we've won before, haven't we?"
Hermione nodded.
"Yes, well...anyway... I'm sure you were fantastic." She said, and just as she had done right before his first match she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. This time, Ron could concentrate on just how good it felt. When she pulled away he could see that her cheeks were slightly pinker and Ron was sure that his ears were blazing red. He cleared his throat a little.
"Shall we go in?"
They walked back to the castle talking about little nonsense things, how Cho would probably never stop crying after this, how Ginny had made a name for herself.
Later, at dinner, both of them reached for the salt at the same time and their hands grazed each other. Ron looked up and saw the pink that he has seen earlier rush back into Hermione's cheeks. Maybe, just maybe, she didn't think that he was a moron after all.