Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
It was 3 o' clock in the morning. The night was still young to some at Hogwarts, but most students had long been asleep— all but 17-year-old Hermione Granger. She sat on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, letting the warmth of the fireplace envelope her. Tears in her eyes, she ripped up papers, one by one, throwing their remains into the burning fire. Heaving a sigh, she slid off of the couch and onto the floor. Suddenly, in the silence, she heard footsteps outside the door to the common room. She quickly wiped away her tears and opened her Charms textbook, pretending to study. In marched Ronald Weasley, sandwich in hand, sneaking up from the kitchen. He stared at Hermione, surprised to see her up so late. "What are you doing here?" he asked her with a mouthful of food.
"What, I can't sit in my own common room?" retorted Hermione.
"N— no," stuttered Ron, turning beet red.
"And don't talk with your mouth full, Ronald. It really isn't polite."
Silence.
"Would you like to join me, Ronald?"
Ron quickly nodded and sat down on the floor beside Hermione. "Studying, are we? As usual…" said Ron, trailing off.
Hermione continued to ignore Ron, but heavily sighed. "What did I say?" asked Ron, looking befuddled.
"It's not you, Ron," began Hermione. "Well, I've been panicking about our Charms test for weeks, and now that it's finally come, I mean, it's like I'm blanking out on everything we've learned! If— if I fail this exam, I can't even imagine what would happen to my reputation!"
"Well, I guess I could try to help you study," whispered Ron.
Hermione snickered. "You, study?"
"Hey, I was just offering to help," replied Ron.
There was silence for the next few minutes, except for the flipping of pages. They were nearing the end of their sixth year at Hogwarts, and the Charms exam was one of the most important for their graduation next year. Ron simply watched Hermione study. He watched her slump over the textbook whenever she felt hopeless. He would flash her a warm-hearted smile whenever she felt she couldn't go on. She continued to study and turn the pages with her nimble fingers that had graced so many textbooks it wasn't even funny.
"Oh, Ronald, I don't know how much longer I'll need to study. I'm so frustrated…" she trailed off.
"Well," replied Ron, "I happen to think you're rather pretty when you're frustrated."
Hermione blushed and tried to shield her face with her book. "Ronald, coming from you, I'm not sure how to reply to that. Um… thank you… I'm flattered."
She turned back to her book, trying to hide her embarrassment. Although she was curled up right next to the fire, she seemed to be slightly shivering. Ron placed a Gryffindor blanket around her shoulders, leaned in, and gently kissed her cheek.
Hermione jumped up a bit, startled, causing the blanket to fall off. The only thing that could be heard were her shocked gasps, mixed with Ron's slow, heavy breathing. She looked at Ron longingly, in a new way— it was like she had never seen him before now. They inched closer and closer, and when their knees were touching, Ron began to lean his head in. Slowly but surely, their lips met. Hermione placed her textbook on the floor and wrapped her arms around Ron's neck, deepening the kiss. Surprising to Hermione, Ron seemed to be going along with it. Maybe he had fancied her all this time…
Several blissful seconds passed, and with each second came the creaking of footsteps on the stairs to the girls' dormitory. 15-year-old, red-head Ginny Weasley crept down the stairs, unbeknownst to what she would find. Once she was at the foot of the steps, she uttered a small gasp, trying not to disturb the two. Hermione, having a good sense of hearing, gently pushed Ron away, and said, "Stop, stop. Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Ron.
Once his eyes were fully opened, he saw his little sister standing quietly at the foot of the stairs, completely agape. "Ron, I— I didn't know that… I—"
"Ginny, we— we're not…" said Hermione.
"We're not exactly together, Ginny," replied Ron. "Sorry you… um… sorry you had to see that."
Ginny blushed. "Oh, no, it's fine, it's fine. Uh…"
"Listen, can you… can this be our secret? For now? Please?" begged Hermione. "It would probably be a good idea for nobody else to know, especially Harry."
"Of— of course," replied Ginny.
"Just don't try anything stupid like that with Harry, though," retorted Ron.
"Oh please, Ronald," exclaimed Ginny, walking back up the steps. "I'll let you two be. Goodnight."
When Ginny was gone from their view, Hermione started, "Well, it's late, and believe it or not, I think I'm ready for the Charms test. Um… thanks for… helping me study." She stood and began walking up the steps. "Goodnight."
A door shut, and Ron was left standing alone in the middle of the common room. "Goodnight Hermione," he whispered.
And with that, he tip-toed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, hoping that soon, everything would fall into place.