Intertwined
by : epiphanies
Not quite the greatest work I've ever done, but it's kind of cute. All except characters are copyrighted to me (including the little conclusion poem dealie :) )
~*~
Hermione Granger giggled as she sipped at her butterbeer.
"Just one more year," she sighed to her two best friends, leaning up against the wall of the Gryffindor Common Room, "Just one more year, and a bit, and we'll be graduated. Out of Hogwarts."
Harry Potter gulped at his butterbeer desperately. Ron stared at his shoes (having drank all of his butterbeer.)
"I mean," she continued, "I still don't know what I'm going to do, you know? I don't know whether to be a teacher, or an Auror, or.."
"Oh, shut up, Hermione." Ron groaned, and she glared at him.
"Oh, don't start." Harry finished his butterbeer and dropped the mug onto the nearby table, "It's not worth it. Why would you want to finish off a year with a fight?"
"It's not a school year," Ron argued, "It's just another day."
"Did you know," Hermione started, her eyes wide, "that the Romans lived with minus two months for over a hundred years before they added July and August?"
"Really?" Ron shouted, jumping up and down, "Really! You're kidding! I think I'm wetting my pants, Hermione, don't tell me anything more, it's dangerously exciting and I'm worried about me..."
"Oh, shut up." she snapped at him, then turned to Harry, "They were rather self-infatuated, though. They named July after Julius and August after Augustus, you know, Augustus? Julius' heir?"
"Wow." said Harry insipidly, "Well, I think I should call it a night."
"But it isn't even..." Ron started, then glanced at Hermione, who was staring at the floor, "...it's not the new year yet."
Hermione went pink in the cheeks, "Yeah, Harry, stay up. Come on."
"Why?" he asked, feigning a yawn, "It's really boring. You guys can say Happy New Year without me."
"Are you sure?" Hermione furrowed her brow, "Don't go to bed, Harry. Come on. We say Happy New Year every New Years Eve. Why ruin it by going off to bed?"
"Maybe I don't want to be down here with everybody."
"Well then we'll come up to your room," she said heatedly, "And we can all say Happy New Year up there as you're in bed falling asleep."
"But we wouldn't want to ruin the 'tradition,'" Harry rolled his eyes, "And we 'always' do it down here."
"You said it, mate." Ron rolled his neck lazily, and, upon hearing it crack, winced.
"Still sore from yesterday?" Hermione inquired concernedly.
Ron nodded slightly, then, his cheeks ruddy, turned away. The Quidditch match the day before had been brutal, but not embarrassing. They'd won 220 -210. Wonderful, especially as Harry had returned as Seeker and Ginny had replaced Angelina as a chaser. The team was wonderful and had team-spirit coloured hair. Besides Harry, the entire team had either blonde or red hair.
He yawned again, "Well, it's only another minute and thirty seconds, I suppose I could stay up."
"Good."
Ron and Hermione looked equally relieved. Harry felt a slight irritation scratch at his insides.
Colin Creevey was all of a sudden at Harry's shoulder.
"You got a girl to kiss at midnight, Harry?" he pulled out from behind him-
Ginny.
"I do." he said proudly. Ginny went a blemishing shade of red.
"Oh." Harry raised his eyebrows at her, causing her to giggle a little, "Well, that's great, Colin. Congratulations. I've sworn off kissing for awhile."
"Oh," Hermione said softly, and he glanced at her when Colin whisked Ginny away, "What?"
"Well, it's just..." she said, a slightly sad look in her eyes.
"What, Hermione?" Ron grumbled, "You're doing a mad girl thing again."
This had apparently made Hermione decide to finally speak, "It's just - " she sputtered, then cleared her throat, "It's just that we could all kiss."
"WHAT?" Harry and Ron shouted, with equal horrified looks at the girl.
She went red, "No! Not like that...just...a cheek thing...or...a hug thing?" She deflated, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just...we should hug. Or something."
Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron, "Hug, hm?"
"Yeah. Like," she sniffed, "A group hug."
"Not in here," said Ron loudly, "No way."
"Well, of course not in here." she snapped, "In your dormitory."
"Why not yours?" Ron demanded.
She rolled her eyes, "Because you'll get thrown out, remember?"
"FIVE!"
Hermione looked horrified, "We've got to hurry!"
"FOUR!"
They ran up the stairs, Harry trying not to spurt into spasms of laughter.
"THREE!"
They reached the last landing to the top.
"TWO!"
But-
As if in slow motion, Ron tripped on Hermione's robes, and they all fell UP the stairs!
"ONE!"
Ron landed on Hermione, Harry on the landing, right next to the door.
"Night, guys. Oh yeah," Harry stood up, "Happy-"
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
SLAM.
Harry disappeared into the dormitory, leaving Ron and Hermione, on top of each other on the crimson carpeted staircase.
"Happy New Year, Ron." she whispered, and his cheeks, his ears, his nose, everything was red.
"Happy New Year, Hermione."
They stared at each other for a moment, and heard the door opening. They turned their necks to see Harry peeking out from behind. He sighed when he saw them looking.
"Bloody hell, Ron." he shook his head, as if Ron had committed some great crime, "if you were looking for the opportune moment, there it was."
SLAM.
"Maybe he's right." Ron sighed, "I'm an idiot."
"Still time." Hermione half-smiled, and pressed her lips to his for a brief, a very brief, second.
She pulled away and grinned, a twinkle in her eye.
He rolled off of her, still staring.
She picked herself up and, heading down the staircase to return to her own dormitory, said:
"Happy New Year, Ron."
"Happy New Year, Hermione."
~*~
and we'll dance
'till the bells ring
and the trumpets sing
and we'll stand with our hands
intertwined
and we'll kiss when the announcer says
It's time
and we'll dance
and stand and rhyme
and we'll hold all our hands
and we'll sing
and we'll dance
and we'll learn
for just one night upon this earth
that the life between is small
and that nobody at all
is so different
that their hands
can't be intertwined
On the last night
of the year.