Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the Gang to do not belong to me.
Summary: Hermione and Ron solve some tricky puzzles on Christmas. R/Hr. Oneshot.
It was Christmas morning. Hermione was sitting on her favorite couch in the Weasley's living room, bent over a small object she was holding in her hands. Every few minutes she'd let out a distressed grumble, obviously unhappy with what it was she was holding.
"Wha' is dat?" Ron mumbled through a particularly large bite of treacle tart, making his presence known. He swallowed. "You've been at that thing for hours."
"It's a Rubik's Cube," Hermione said curtly, glancing up at a now-chewing Ron. "My parents sent it to me. It's a Muggle toy. You're supposed to be a genius if you can figure it
out without cheating. And I've only been at it for twenty minutes." Her fingers continued to twist and examine the multi-colored cube, looking for an answer.
"I don't get it."
"Of course you don't." Huffing, Hermione turned around in her spot to look towards Harry. "Harry? Do you know how to do one of these?"
Harry laughed. "Of course not. If you can't, I certainly can't. Besides, you think the Dursleys ever gave me one?"
Ginny nodded in agreement. "He has a point, Hermione. 'Sides, can't you just charm it? It'd be so much easier."
"That would be cheating," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I would never find out if I could do it right if I charmed it." She was now at a point of such frustration that she tossed the Cube back onto the table. Ron took a seat in the chair across from her. Snow fell outside, and Hermione gazed almost longingly out the window.
Ron smirked. "Wish you could be out there now, don't you?" He wished he could be out there himself, but he wanted company at the same time.
"No, I don't. I have to get this thing finished."
"Mind if I try?"
Hermione looked up at him, almost shocked by his request. She thought she heard Harry turn around in his seat as well. "Ron...you sure? It's...difficult."
Ron didn't seem to see any sort of trouble with it. He picked up the Cube and turned it over and over in his hands. "It's just six colors, innit? It doesn't look difficult."
"It's the twists that make it the hard part," Harry said, "it gets really confusing. Dudley let me try it once. I couldn't do it. Never finished one."
Everyone went quiet for a moment as Ron attempted to twist the Rubik's Cube into something that made sense. Three twists, a turn, another twist. "What exactly is it that you're
supposed to do?"
Hermione let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "You're supposed to get all of the same color on each side, Ron. That's why it's so hard." Ginny laughed in the back.
Ron seemed to nod as he went on with the twisting and turning of the block. "So the colors in the middle never move."
Hermione seemed taken aback at the fact that he picked up on this so quickly. "...No...they don't."
Ron tossed it up in the air and caught it, staring at it as it went up and down. Those watching (who briefly included Fred and George as they made their way outside) gave Ron incredulous looks. He didn't seem to notice them. The pattern on the Cube began to resemble an 'H' on many of the sides. Hermione leaned further forward to watch what he was doing. Apparently something he did was right.
"You got Hs? I didn't get that far, Ron, how...?"
The little squares slowly began to fill themselves in, and after five minutes more or so, Ron tossed a now-completed Rubik's Cube back on the table. "Like that?" he asked, looking up at Hermione with a funny grin on his face. Ginny clapped her approval. Hermione just stared dumbfounded.
"But- but that- how did you- I've never- Ron! You can't use magic! We went over that! Now that you've learned silent incantations I need to be more careful-"
"Hermione, I didn't use a spell." His grin from before looked slightly dampened. "It's logic- like chess. Easy."
Ginny and Harry, expecting a fight or at least a minor battle to ensue, left to join Fred and George outside for some Quidditch. Ron and Hermione were the only ones left in the living room. Hermione still hadn't said anything to answer him. She just stared, looking dumbfounded at Ron's obvious...genius.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just that...how did you do that, Ron? I was at that forever, and I didn't...I don't get it, Ron." She paused a minute, leaving Ron a moment to gloat. Ron, who had never seemed to accomplish anything more major than saving a few hoops from impending quaffles, had just bested Hermione Granger at a puzzle. However, he did nothing of the sort. Perhaps he was saving it for later.
"You want me to show you?"
"Um...okay."
Ron knelt on the floor and leaned over the table towards Hermione, Rubik's Cube in hand. He tapped it quickly with his wand, watching the sides shuffle themselves. "Okay, so you start by turning this side..."
Hermione watched intently, although she turned slightly pink at the fact that no, he hadn't gloated, and yes, he was willing to teach her something- with patience. "Like this?" She reached forward and took the block from his hands, her fingers brushing his briefly.
Ron audibly swallowed. "Uh- yeah, like that. And again, here..."
"Thanks."
He nodded, still not looking quite at her. "No problem. It's just a puzzle, see. You just have to figure out what makes it work, what's good and what isn't. Which way to go next. What not to do. In a sense, what'll make it angry." He laughed and lifted the Cube back from her. Hermione's pink cheeks became a more rosy color.
She watched his fingers, trying to remember every step. Her concentration broke only when he said, "And that's how you do it" and set it back on the table. Ron looked up slowly from the table and his eyes met hers briefly.
"Everything all right?" he asked, studying her expression
"Umm...yeah, it's just, wow, I couldn't believe it when I first saw, and now...wow, Ron, you're-"
Ron cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. Hermione, though thoroughly surprised, didn't move. The two carried on for a few moments, only to stop when Hermione heard the front door swing open and Fred, George, Harry, and Ginny reenter the house. She had jumped back almost immediately, and the two of them were a very odd shade of red when the other four entered the living room.
"Learn anything?" Ginny asked Hermione, looking back and forth from her friend to her brother.
"Yeah, I did," a cherry-cheeked Hermione answered (Fred, George, and Harry were holding in laughter in the background). "Ron's a genius."
A/N: Thought of that the other day and I had to put it down before I forgot it. Review, please! They help me write better!