"…And that's how I saved the one from Kenneth, saving us the game too. If it hadn't been for me stopping that goal then the whole village would think the Underage Ottersea Boys Club were up to nothing but I definitely proved that theory wrong. In the next match against Battington- Hermione are you listening?" Mclaggen interrupted his own speech about what happened against Battington to address his date.
"What? Oh yes definitely, very exciting. You sure showed them," Hermione replied, coming out of her bored stupor. She kept glancing around, looking for someone in the crowd. Slughorn's party was absolutely packed with people and she couldn't spot the flame red hair she was searching for, despite having been searching since Mclaggen had started his Quidditch tales, which had been since they arrived. As he continued to drone about how brilliant he was, Hermione leaned back against the wall, occasionally nodding when it seemed appropriate. Maybe he hadn't managed to get into the party after all, she thought glumly. There was no point in going with Cormac if Ron wasn't here to seethem together.
A little while later Hermione saw not Ron, but Harry looking bemused chatting to Luna in the corner. She was about to go over but then remembered Cormac, who was pointing up at the ceiling, saying, "If I'm not mistaken Hermione, and I very rarely am, there's some mistletoe above us." Almost before Hermione could register what he had said he started moving towards her with a determined look in his eye. "Um- look! Is that Gwenog Jones over there talking to Slughorn?" Hermione said frantically, pointing randomly into the crowd. By the time Cormac looked back where Hermione had been she had escaped into the press of people.
"Hermione! Hermione!" called a voice from her left. "Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!"
"What's happened to you?" asked Harry, looking her up and down. Hermione glanced at herself too and found that she looked distinctly worse than she did before. "Oh, I've just escaped-I mean, I've just left Cormac." Harry looked at her questioningly so she added, "Under the mistletoe."
"Serves you right for coming with him."
"I thought he'd annoy Ron most," she replied coldly. "I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole-"
"You considered Smith?" interrupted Harry, clearly revolted.
"Yes, I did, and I'm starting to wish I'd chosen him. Mclaggen makes Grawp look like a gentleman. Let's go this way, we'll be able to see him coming, he's so tall…"
The three of them made their way over to the other side of the room, scooping up goblets of mead on the way, and unfortunately discovered Hermione's least favourite teacher currently at Hogwarts standing there, Professor Trelwney. As Luna started a conversation with her, Harry started whispering to Hermione again. "Listen, let's get something straight. Are you planning to tell Ron you interfered at Keeper tryouts?"
"Do you really think I'd stoop that low?" Hermione said back, her usual withering expression on her face.
"Hermione, If you can ask out Mclaggen-"
"There's a difference," said Hermione with dignity. "I've got no plans to tell Ron anything about what might, or might not, have happened at Keeper tryouts."
"Good, because if he falls apart again and we lose the next match-"
"Quidditch! Is that all boys care about?" said Hermione, anger flashing in her eyes. "Cormac hasn't asked me one question about myself, no, I've just been treated to A Hundred Great Saves by Cormac Mclaggen non-stop, ever since- oh no, here he comes!" She moved as quickly as she could, squeezing between two drunk witches and bumping into none other than Lavender Brown, who was looking like she had just been crying, being supported by her best friend Parvati. Lavender glared at Hermione and sniffed, "Well, you must be very pleased with yourself. Not only have you got off with Mclaggen but you've got my boyfriend wanting for you too! You- you- VIXEN." With this last word she lunged at a shocked Hermione, who very nearly got hit in the eye by Lavender's ridiculously long fingernails. As it was, Hermione managed to dodge this attack and Parvati grabbed on to her friends arm, holding her back. "I'll deal with this, you go somewhere else," said Parvati, restraining Lavender as best she could. Lavender started crying as Hermione hurried away.
Deciding that she didn't want to find Harry again or risk being spotted by Cormac or Lavender she left the party and headed up to the common room, her mind whirring. What did Lavender mean, Ron wanted her? Did he just want to talk to her? Did he want to be friends again? Did he want to be…more than friends? Just as she was thinking that she rounded a corner and met the exact person she was thinking of coming the other way.
"Hermione! I, er, well."
"Yes Ron?" she replied, waiting to see whether he would be as aggressive as he had been every other time they'd met this week.
"I, I, er, the thing is…sorry" he said quietly, looking at his feet. "I've acted like a complete prat to you because…because…"
"Yes?" Hermione repeated, moving slightly closer, hoping against hope he would finally be honest with her.
"Because…" Ron looked up and, seeing that she was near him, blushed a deep red. "Because…IreallyreallylikeyouandIwant togooutwithyou." He gabbled finally, looking into her face hopefully. Hermione put her head to one side in mock consideration, saying, "Well…you're nice enough but really…" Ron looked horrified, so Hermione smiled and finished, "Ireallyreallylikeyouandwantt ogooutwithyoutoo."
Ron's face broke into a huge smile and he pulled her in for a rib-cracking hug. "Ron. Can't. Breathe." Hermione wheezed, so he let go. Before she could get her breath back he started kissing her all over her face, making her turn almost as red as he was a little while before. "Ron!" she giggled, "What if Filch finds us here?" Ron stopped kissing her and looked pleadingly at her, making her laugh even harder. Hermione grabbed his hand and led him back to the Common room, but stopped short before they opened the portrait hole, a horrible thought having struck her. "You did break up with Lavender properly didn't you?" she asked, worried that he had chickened out of it before coming to talk to her.
"Of course I did!" said Ron affronted. "Well she sort of, figured out that I liked you and broke up with me anyway," he continued at Hermione's doubtful expression. Hermione smiled again and pulled him into the Common room, kissing him passionately as soon as he staggered through the entrance. This display earned cat-calls and whistles from the few people finishing homework by the fire, but Ron just made a rude hand gesture at them and kept on snogging. The pair of them had a lot of time to make up for.