A/N: So this story is to take a bit of my time from More Than Quidditch. It's my first one shot, and my first T rated ficlet.
Dedicated to: aGreatPenName
Disclaimer: I own none of the Harry Potter characters, but I sorta own some of the thoughts that go into it... maybe...
She laughed insanely. She couldn't help it, but the prospect of Ron going out with Pansy Parkinson, of all people, just tickled her funny bone. She could either feel a great amount of amusement or indifference with a little spark of jealousy. Yes, she definitely preferred the roll on the floor, laugh your arse off, can't breathe sort of laughter she was currently taking part in when Ginny had told her of the news. In fact, it was Ginny's initial laughter that triggered her own. Besides, she hadn't laughed in weeks, and she needed to. So she did.
"And… she's… she's…" Ginny couldn't even finish her thought as she started to laugh again.
It wasn't as if Pansy was a bad person. In fact, she had abandoned her family, her previous principals and everything she had been taught in order to fight with the Order against Voldemort. They had patched up any loose ends a good three or so years ago. If Harry could forgive Malfoy, they could definitely forgive Pansy.
She was pudgy. That was why it was so ironic and just plain funny. She was pug-nosed, a bit overweight, and had a tendency to have no idea in hell what to do with her make up (neither did Hermione, but she tended not to use any anyway). She wasn't downright ugly or anything, but she certainly wasn't a looker. And Ron was probably the most shallow person she knew. Well, she guessed that people could change.
Or they had shagged already.
Either way, it was hilarious. The girls laughed in the living room of the Burrow (which was now unusually quiet as all the children were long out of he house) for a few minutes more before Ginny's face suddenly grew serious. Ah, so Ginny had brought this up for a reason before Ron personally told her. She looked at Ginny curiously, and she couldn't help but feel that she was about to be get a death sentence or her wand snapped in half.
"You see, Hermione, my friend," Hermione could automatically tell that this was Ginny's "sweet" voice which meant that she needed something massive, "Mum and Dad are gone for tonight. Harry and I have Sirius's play date with Neville and Luna's kid, Fred and George are still on their business in Australia, and Ron has his date with Pansy."
"And?" Hermione asked. She knew there was an and, and she was just dreading to hear it with the mischievous look on her friend's face.
"And Charlie's in town."
"And?"
"And I was supposed to keep him company, but… I can't, and I was counting on Ron to, but…"
Hermione groaned. It wasn't as if hanging out with Charlie would be any problem. In fact, he was quite an interesting guy with all his tales of dragons and Romania. It was just that she planned to do some research for a potion with Severus that would do a lot of good at St. Mungo's. After that, she had agreed to go on a date with Terry Boot. However, she supposed that after everything the Weasley family had done for her, she could keep their second eldest son company.
"It's no problem. Let me just owl Severus and Terry." Hermione said as Ginny simply beamed at her.
One thing that Hermione didn't see was why Charlie didn't just go out on his own. She understood he was there to visit his family, but he surely wouldn't have minded to go out on his own for one night. He was still fairly young and quite attractive. He was a dragon keeper! He could've gone out to any pub or bar or club or even just to a park and have girls practically drooling on him. She was surprised that he still hadn't gotten married. Besides Ron, everyone else in the Weasley family had.
Even she had had a little crush. She remembered it as she pulled out a piece of parchment to write the letters to the two men she would have to reschedule with. It was before she, Ron, and Harry had to go out and look for the Horcruxes at Bill and Fleur's wedding that she grew a momentary infatuation with him. He looked so dashing standing at Bill's side in his dark blue robes that mirrored the color of his eyes. She couldn't help but imagine what was under those robes as she had seen it (how could she not see all the Weasley boys at least half naked at one point or another having spent ever single summer there) before. But then she looked up into his eyes and lost it.
He had such open eyes, letting you know what was in his soul if you bothered to look. She saw a look of longing for love, for compassion, for peace, for what he was witnessing now- a day of bliss in the midst of everything. She couldn't help but sigh. Then, she had to snap out of it. She was sitting next to the love of her life (at the moment). Ron would probably not have been too happy to know what his girlfriend was thinking.
She finished up her letters and sent them with Ginny's owl, Pat. She then walked back into the living room to see Charlie reading some sort of magazine. She thought about just leaving him alone to have her peace, but she hadn't talked to him much at all since lunch that day. She knew that everyone else was gone in the house when Ginny popped in for a quick wink and a loud "BYE!".
"Hi, Charlie." She said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "How are you?"
"Hey, Hermione. I'm good. You?" He asked reading the last sentence of whatever he was reading before closing it and putting it on the side table by the lamp.
"I'm just great. So, I guess it's just us two for the night, huh?" She smiled.
The night had been pretty casual. The two had decided to order food by floo and have a nice dinner at her flat while she introduced him to Muggle movies. It turned out that he had taken Muggle studies while at Hogwarts so was already pretty familiar with the idea though he had never seen one in real life. So, they sat in front of her telly and watched an Adam Sandler movie. She had told him about the American actor and had been insistent that they watched one of those.
They both laughed all the way through, and at the end, Hermione clutched her stomach. She had known to overeat when she really liked the food (like the Mexican they had ordered that she loved). Of course, she had a fast metabolism coupled with a very active life so she never gained any weight. "I'm done." She said, feeling as though she could just keel over and die.
"As am I." Then, he turned to her and looked serious, "You know, Hermione, you didn't have to feel sorry for me and keep me company tonight. You could've gone through with your date."
She looked at him, and she could tell he was a bit hurt. He must've overheard her and Ginny's conversation this afternoon. "Oh no! I love spending time with you. I really don't mind. I'm surprised you don't! You could've done anything tonight with any girl!" She said, hoping it didn't sound as wrong to him as it did to her.
She really did flat out enjoy his company tonight. She didn't think she would've had a better time with anyone else. It was odd to her that she felt that way, and she almost wanted to hug him for it. She figured that getting that from his little brother's friend wouldn't be appropriate. So she just took the route of smiling a lot and laughing more than she had in a long time. Between finding out about Ron and Pansy and getting to hang out with Charlie, she had an amazing evening.
"Well, most girls are too shallow for my liking. I usually prefer to get to know them before I put my heart out on the line. I need someone of substance- someone beautiful in my eyes and smart. Like you." His voice was deep and seductive.
It took her a while just to get over how he said what he did before she let his actual words sink in. By that point, he had his lips right by her face. She couldn't even react as he put his lips on hers. Then, his words finally did sink in as she felt the heat she felt right now. That was possibly the nicest kiss she had ever had.
She shivered slightly into it before he pulled away. He looked like he was about to say something, but she decided to take action for once. She pushed him down and laid on top of him, snogging him senseless.
"So, you don't regret not going on that date?"
"Oh definitely not. I'll just have to tell him I'm… preoccupied with my time." She said, smirking a smirk she could only gain from spending so much time with Malfoy before going back to her current activity.
A/N: So, I hated that ending, but I didn't feel up to writing a sex scene or anything. I may MAY bust out a sequel once I'm done with More Than Quidditch.