A/N- Well, here it is everyone. The last part of Star Crossed. It's been so much fun to write this, and I'm glad many of you enjoyed it. Oh, and someone asked me if I had seen that "Hey Arnold" where they put on Romeo and Juliet and I just did and was shocked by some similarities. That really is a cool show, check it out sometime. Now just some quotes I heard recently and a dedication. Here goes:
This fic goes out to Ron's Babe (aka CG's protégé), Tinkerbell and Viper. These three wonderful people never stop believing in me or my work. Thanks. And Kate (aka Rin Berry), an awesome friend that I met through ff.net who showed me the ropes when I was just starting out as a writer on this website.
Quotes: (I heard both of these quotes this week and it reminded me of R/H, they might not be exactly right)
"You can never be friends with someone you're in love with. Somewhere in your heart, you'll always be wanting more. (From Jack and Jill, the WB show. No, I don't love that show, I just had it on and heard that quote and thought it sounded like R/H)
"The more you suppress your feelings, the stronger they become." (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A movie that everyone NEEDS to go see.)
Star Crossed, Part Thirteen
When Ron and Hermione went to sit in the back of the classroom after they finished their scene, most of the cast applauded wildy. Jake Elliot looked disappointed, but being his amicable self, started clapping as well. Lavender and Parvati looked at each other, rolling their eyes and crossing their arms in perfect synchronization. But Ron and Hermione seemed practically oblivious to everyone around them.
"So why'd you come back?" She asked him.
"I just couldn't stand to see you playing Juliet without me being Romeo." Ron shrugged simply.
Hermione put on a fake socialite voice.
"As your dear sister said, no one can do those parts quite like we do." They both laughed, sitting down together.
Dean, Lavender, Ginny and the guy playing Mr. Capulet who Ron and Hermione had still never said two words to, were reading a scene that Romeo and Juliet were not in.
"Hey, Hermione?" Ron whispered, leaning over a bit.
"Yeah?"
"It's good to be back." He took her hand under the table, squeezing it affectionately.
Hermione felt so happy that Ron and her friends again. Or whatever they were again. She had really thought that Ron was going to leave the play for good, and now that he was back, she felt like a completely different person. There was just something about him being there, smiling congenially and holding her hand, that made her feel as if no luckier girl existed.
~*~*~*~*~
The next few weeks were so full of practice that all the cast members were getting close to burn-out. All except for Ron and Hermione. Even if they had done the scene a million times, they never seemed to tire of acting it out with each other. Practically everyone had learned their parts by now, and Jake Elliot had long gotten over the fact that he was playing Mercutio. He seemed to be really getting into the part, and amazingly didn't seem to hold much of a grudge against Ron. Hermione couldn't help thinking that no matter how boring he was, he still was an incredibly nice guy. But she could only look at him as nothing more than a casual friend, and she knew that was how it was always going to be between them. She assured Ron of this, and he seemed very pleased.
Professor McGonagall (A/N-HA! I spelled it right!) had gotten very stressed as opening night started to grow closer. She went practically hysterical every time someone messed up one of their lines. But that had started to happen less and less. So little in fact, that it actually seemed as if everyone had learned their parts. They could now do the whole play without scripts from beginning to end, with very few mistakes to speak of. Everyone had been working so hard, rehearsing on their own and between classes, and it seemed to finally be paying off. Colin Creevey's squeaky little voice did sound pretty terrible saying the beginning and ending speeches of the play, but he had learned them down to the letter. McGonagall had decided that all the practices this certain week would not be about learning lines but about painting sets and getting costume fittings. Everyone seemed pretty pleased about getting a slight break from rehearsals, even Ron and Hermione.
Ron looked down at the schedule McGonagall had made up for them.
"So, 6:00 tonight is set paintings? And no magic? What are we, Muggles?" Ron looked frustrated.
"Oh, Ron, it will be fun. I just think she figures we should do things the boring old Muggle way, you know, bond as a cast." Hermione shrugged.
"Haven't we been doing enough cast-bonding lately?" Ron sighed.
"Oh, cheer up. You don't have to come, you know. You could dump a whole bucket of paint on McGonagall and she'd still keep you in the play." Hermione laughed.
"Yeah, she did seem pretty excited when I came back, eh?" Ron grinned.
"Don't flatter yourself. I can give you a compliment, but at least PRETEND to be modest." Hermione hit him playfully on the arm as they entered the Gryffindor common room.
Harry was sitting on a couch with Guinevere, laughing about something. Hermione and Ron spotted them, walking over.
"Hey, Harry. Guinevere, right?" Hermione asked, sitting on the opposite couch, Ron joining her.
"Yeah, and you're Hermione Granger. And-Ron Weasley, right? I've heard so much about both of you from Harry." Guinevere smiled brightly at both of them.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other sideways.
"So…you and Harry have been spending a lot of time together?" Ron asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Well, yeah, Ron. We've been practicing Quidditch practically non-stop, and you two have been so busy with the play." Harry said simply.
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Guinevere." Hermione smiled politely.
"Yeah, you too. I'll see you around. Oh, and Harry-let's try and remember our Quidditch positions tomorrow." Guinevere and Harry both seemed to find this comment absolutely hilarious, and Ron and Hermione couldn't even begin to guess why that was funny.
"Right. Bye, Guinevere." Harry said, still laughing slightly.
She smiled, standing to her impressive full height, and walking off.
"So, Harry?" Ron raised an eyebrow, Hermione giggling slightly.
"No, Ron. It's not like that." Harry rolled his eyes, and it appeared he was telling the truth.
"Sure, sure." Ron laughed.
"Anyway, Harry, how has Quidditch practice been going? I feel like we've hardly seen each other the past few weeks." Hermione asked.
"Oh, it's been going fine. I've missed you guys though. I'm looking forward to opening night, but I haven't seen either of you, or Dean, Ginny…any of you, except at lunch and classes. I'm going to like when things get back to normal."
"Yeah, well you know McGonagall. She wants this absolutely perfect. But it will be nice to not have such a hectic schedule." Hermione admitted.
"You usually make your schedule hectic enough on your own." Ron grinned.
"Oh, which reminds me. I haven't had a spare moment to study for my O.W.L.'s."
"Hermione! We're barely half-way through the year!" Harry exclaimed, smiling.
"It's never too early." Hermione shrugged.
They all laughed, and talked, just the three of them, for the next hour or so. But then Ron and Hermione had to go help paint the sets. This play coming to an end would be bittersweet, Ron and Hermione thought to themselves. Sure, it had brought some incredible things with it and some feelings they hadn't even known were there. But both rather longed for how simple life was before this play. Ron and Hermione couldn't help wondering as they walked downstairs if things could ever be like it was before. Had too much changed between them to just go back to how things used to be?
~*~*~*~*~
"If I have to paint one more square inch of scenery, I think I'm leaving Hogwarts." Hermione rolled her eyes.
The rest of the cast murmured their agreement, begrudgingly finishing up the backdrops they had been working on for the past five hours. It was getting late, and everyone was getting irritable and tired.
Hermione looked over at Ron, laughing.
"Ron, I think you got more paint on yourself than the balcony." Ron had been painting the balcony white, and had proved to be very bad at this kind of work. He had no practice at painting, growing up in wizard household.
"Oh, shut up." Ron rolled his eyes, flicking his paint brush at her, splashing her with white paint.
"Hey!" Hermione, who had up to now only managed to get a few paint streaks on her robes, exclaimed.
Professor McGonagall was overseeing everything, suddenly stood up, clapping her hands together to get their attention.
"All right, everyone. Great work tonight, I'm proud of all of you for getting this finished up. I'll be adding a few finishing touches by way of magic before Thursday, when we will have our dress rehearsal. Opening night will be Friday, as all of you know. Costume fittings will take place tomorrow at 6:00. We will put any finishing touches on Wednesday night. Once again, great work everyone. You're dismissed."
Everyone expressed their relief, happily walking off. Ron and Hermione started to head off together.
"I'm exhausted." Ron voiced suddenly, running his hands through his hair and leaving a big streak of white paint.
"Me too. But costume fittings should be fun tomorrow." Hermione shrugged, yawning.
"I guess. What sort of thing is Romeo supposed to wear anyway?" Ron asked.
"Well, I went to a performance of Romeo and Juliet when I was ten, and Romeo wore…well, he wore tights." Hermione started to laugh.
"TIGHTS? What? I didn't know that!" Ron looked horrified.
"Oh, come on, Ron, it won't be that bad." Hermione said, grinning.
"I'm NOT wearing tights." Ron said desperately as they reached the portrait hole.
They entered the common room, a few of their fellow Gryffindors still up.
"All right, well, see you in the morning, Hermione." Ron called, walking off.
"Yeah, see you." Hermione called back.
"Oh, and Ron?" She suddenly turned back around.
"Yeah?" He looked back at her.
She walked over, hugging him and kissing his cheek.
"I'm really glad you're back." She smiled, and then walked off.
Ron smiled back, grinning to himself as he walked off to bed.
~*~*~*~*~
Costume fittings were the following day. McGonagall had brought in a woman named Madam Ricadia, a costume designer who used magic. She was tall and thin, and looked very fashionable herself. She wore bright purple robes with a jeweled belt around her waist and her hair done up in shimmering chopsticks. Lavender looked at her in awe, and it appeared Trelawney had been replaced as her role model.
Madam Ricadia got everyone's measurements, and told McGonagall she would have the costumes by Thursday. Ron suddenly raised his hand, his ears slightly pink.
"Yes?" She asked in her crisp, sharp voice.
"The boy's costumes don't involve tights in any way, do they?" He asked.
She smiled slightly, as Lavender started giggling so furiously Hermione thought she was going to pass out.
"No, no tights." Madam Ricadia grinned.
Ron looked so immensely relieved that even Hermione had to laugh.
"Too bad, Ron." Hermione said, smiling.
"Well, I had to know." Ron shrugged.
"All right, everyone, remember dress rehearsal is tomorrow night. Get here at 5:00 so that you can see your costumes and make sure they fit properly. This is almost it, everyone. Please review your lines tonight. You're dismissed."
Ron and Hermione left, both nervous and excited about the play. Neither talked much on the way up to the common room. They both went their separate ways when they entered.
"See you in the morning, Romeo." Hermione called over her shoulder, grinning.
Ron laughed, heading off to his room.
~*~*~*~*~
When Ron awoke the morning of dress rehearsal, he felt as though his heart was nearly beating out of his chest. Tomorrow night, they would be performing the play in front of the ENTIRE school. In front of all the students and all the teachers. In front of Harry, which would be strange. And in front of MALFOY. Ron groaned inwardly. He could already imagine the sort of things Malfoy would say about he and Hermione after the play. Rolling out his bed, he took in a deep breath. ((C'mon, now, Weasley. Be a man. At least you don't have to wear tights.))
~*~*~*~*~
Hermione woke up the morning of the dress rehearsal in an incredibly good mood. Nearly leaping out of bed, she catapulted into Lavender, who shot her a dirty look.
"Morning, Lav. It's great to see you too." Hermione grinned, and went to take a shower.
~*~*~*~*~
Guinevere and Harry sat in the common room, playing chess.
"Ha! Check! Good grief, Harry, you weren't kidding when you said you were bad at this." Guinevere smiled playfully.
"Oh, shut up." Harry rolled his eyes, laughing.
"So…excited about the play tomorrow?" Guinevere asked.
"Yeah, I guess. It'll be nice when it's over to see Ron and Hermione again." Harry shrugged.
"Yeah, it seems like play practice keeps them pretty busy." Guinevere looked like she really wanted to ask Harry something but couldn't quite say it.
"Is something bothering you?" Harry looked at her curiously.
"Well, I'm trying to be tactful here, Harry, but I think I'm just going to come out and ask you. Is there something going on between them?"
"Who? Ron and Hermione?" Harry sputtered.
"Well, yeah."
"To be honest, I have no clue," Harry started talking a little quieter, "I mean, I kind of figured they had a thing for each other in fourth year, or at least Ron liked her, but lately…I just have no clue. I wouldn't think, you know, because they fight all the time, but I guess…I don't know. Neither of them will admit that they're-you know, together, and I really have no way of finding out. And to be honest, it's kind of bothering me."
"Well, that's certainly understandable, Harry. I mean, they're your best friends. That would drive me crazy." Guinevere looked like she actually understood.
"Yeah. Oh, well. They'll tell me when they tell me, I guess. Thanks for listening." Harry grinned weakly.
"Anytime, Harry. See you at practice tonight." Guinevere smiled at him, and left.
~*~*~*~*~
Hermione and Ron headed down to dress rehearsal that night with some of their fellow Gryffindors.
"So…nervous?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, a little." Ron admitted.
"Me too."
They entered the Great Hall, and their eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.
"Whoa…" Ron muttered.
"No kidding, Keanu Reeves." Hermione replied.
"What?" Ron asked, still looking in awe at the Great Hall.
"It's a Muggle thing, forget it." Hermione stared up at the newly decorated Hall as well.
The painted white balcony was hung high above them, covered with glittering roses and vines that seemed to sparkle slightly. All the tables and chairs were set up facing the "stage." The teacher's desk had been moved and the floor had been covered with pearly white and blue marble. And various other scenery lay about, everything looking more spectacular than the next. They couldn't even begin to guess what was backstage.
"This is…amazing." Lavender said, leading the rest of the cast who was walking in.
"Good evening, everyone. Glad to see you like the "finishing touches." Is everyone ready to get started?" Professor McGonagall suddenly came out from backstage.
Things went very well from the beginning. Colin's voice still sounded very squeaky, and Ron and Hermione kept grinning at each other as he spoke.
"Nice job, Mr. Creevey. Now, everyone, costume changes. Go backstage and Madam Ricadia will assist you."
Hermione and Ginny walked towards the girl's side together. Ginny was given an exquisite royal blue dress with light blue criss-cross stitching on the upper half of the dress. Madam Ricadia hurried over to Hermione.
"Ah, yes, Hogwart's own Juliet." She smiled widely at her.
"That's me." Hermione said, grinning back.
"Come with me, my dear. You have more costume changes than anyone." Madam Ricadia led her to a backroom with four gorgeous dresses on mannequins.
"Wow…" Hermione choked out.
"Thank you, my dear. Now, for your first scene, getting ready for the party, you will wear this silk bathrobe. At the actual party and balcony, you wear this," she gestured toward a light blue beaded dress with an accompanying beaded mask, "and you're wedding dress," she pointed towards a white dress complete with a veil, "and for your death scene, my favorite dress of all." It was midnight blue silk with a scoop neck and had red beaded accents.
Hermione felt a slight girly leap of excitement at the prospect of wearing all these beautiful clothes.
"Thank you, Madam Ricadia." She said earnestly.
"It's your night, I wanted you to look perfect. And you will. Now get your bathrobe on, and get ready for the dress rehearsal." And Madam Ricadia left, smiling.
~*~*~*~*~
Ron and all the other boys in the play were looking at their costumes with relief. Ron was just a white button down shirt with a black tuxedo jacket, and black pants that were on the tighter side, but were in no way tights. He happily got dressed, feeling pretty excited.
As everyone got dressed, backstage was abuzz with noise and confusion. Girls were rushing around with their hair in curlers and very dramatic make-up on. Boys complained about their outfits and tried to make themselves look as manly as possible in the outfits they were given.
Hermione sat backstage, anxiously smoothing her mass of curls. She felt girlier than usual, all dressed up in the silk bathrobe with her hair done and her face plastered with make-up.
Professor McGonagall suddenly tapped her on the shoulder, holding what looked like a clothes-mike.
"Miss Granger, thank goodness! I was just handing these out, they're clothes-mikes and they'll make your voice able to be heard by the audience better."
"But they're electrical, wouldn't those not work on Hogwarts?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Well, technically, yes, but the Ministry's specially engineered these and…oh, it's a very complicated procedure, you probably wouldn't understand. Well, actually Miss Granger, YOU might understand, but-"
"Thanks, Professor." Hermione cut off the babbling Professor McGonagall, taking the mike and clipping it on.
She decided to go find her shoes. Turning the corner, she bumped right into Ron.
"Oh, sorry--" She stopped when she saw his tuxedo outfit.
"H-Hey, Hermione." He was obviously a little surprised by what she looked like as well.
"Curtain going up in five!" Professor McGonagall announced.
"Nice outfit." Hermione laughed.
"Shut up, I feel ridiculous enough."
"No, I'm kidding. You look fine."
"Thanks. You look-different." Ron said, his voice slightly higher.
"Different good?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, sure." Ron said awkwardly, his ears red.
"Thanks. Good luck with the play." Hermione grinned.
"Yeah, you too. We've worked hard enough on it, I'm sure it'll go fine."
"I'm sure it will."
"All right, everyone, places!" Professor McGonagall said suddenly, cutting off their little conversation.
Ron and Hermione smiled nervously at each other, both walking off to get in their respective places. Colin stepped up onto the stage, shaking with nervousness and wringing his hands.
"All right, Colin, here's your cue…" Professor McGonagall patted him on the shoulder, stepping off the stage as the red velvet curtains began to open.
The entire school watched expectantly from their seats, the whole Hall lit with candles.
Colin stepped up, anxiously putting a hand on his clothes-mike. And slowly, he began to speak.
"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene-" Suddenly, his squeaky, high voice ceased. Colin stopped talking, got a frightened look on his face, and loudly cleared his throat. When he started to speak again, it wasn't his voice at all. It was a deep, low voice that echoed through the hall. "From ancient grudge break to new mutiny-"
Ginny and Hermione watched from backstage as Colin continued to speak with his newly acquired voice. Ginny slapped her hand over her mouth.
"I don't believe it! Colin's voice changed!" Ginny giggled.
"THAT'S funny." Hermione laughed as well, shaking her head.
Colin finished to thunderous applause from the Great Hall. Smiling sheepishly and a lot more confidently than usual, he left the stage. The play began, and not a mistake was made. When they got to the balcony scene, Ron and Hermione did better than ever and didn't even look that uncomfortable kissing each other. Guinevere and Harry watched from the audience, sitting next to each other.
"Hey, Harry?" Guinevere whispered, watching Ron and Hermione on the stage.
"Yeah?" Harry replied, looking a little shocked as he watched the stage as well.
"You know how you were talking about how you're not sure how Ron and Hermione feel about each other?" She asked, smiling slightly.
"Yeah?"
"I think it's pretty obvious." She grinned sympathetically at him, and went back to watching the play.
Harry sighed slightly. The rest of this year was definitely going to be strange.
~*~
The play was nearly at an end. Hermione and Ron were acting the famous death scene.
"Thus…with a kiss…I die." Ron kissed her, and fell dramatically back on the stone table.
Some girls in the audience were crying, and everyone was watching, speechless. Except for Malfoy, who was laughing so hard he was nearly in tears himself. Crabbe looked disdainfully at him, and shoved him hard. Malfoy shut up.
"O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die!" Hermione shouted, taking the glittering dagger, and shoving it roughly under her arm.
She collapsed on top of Ron's figure, and the room fell silent.
Colin stepped into a spotlight that was slightly off center stage.
"A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some shall be pardoned, and some punished; for never was a story of more woe…than this of Juliet and her Romeo." He finished, his new deep voice sounding somber and making a perfect ending to the wonderfully performed play.
Everyone sat silent for a moment, and suddenly Dumbledore leapt to his feet, clapping wildly. Everyone else followed suit shortly, even a reluctant Malfoy clapped. Harry stood up as well, feeling very proud of his friends.
Ron and Hermione got up from their positions on the stone table, grinning widely at each other. Taking each other's hands, they went to center stage and bowed, to even more applause.
"You were terrific, Hermione." Ron smiled, squeezing her hand.
"Thanks, Ron. So were you." Hermione smiled back.
As they bowed again with the rest of the cast, both of them remembered everything that had happened in the production of the play. Ron looked at Hermione as they walked off stage, and wondered if tomorrow, they would pretend like nothing had ever happened. What else could they do?
Hermione didn't let go of Ron's hand as they made their way off stage. She too wondered how things would be between them now. Would they just go back to just being friends and constantly fighting with each other? Would they start dating or something? What would everyone think about them now that this play was over?
They both stopped when they reached backstage, and Hermione, on a sudden impulse, hugged Ron tightly.
"I had a great time doing this play with you, Ron." She said, smiling.
"Me too, Hermione." They grinned widely at each other, and went to change back into their robes.
Neither knew what their "relationship" would become after this play. But tomorrow would hold the answers. And they would find out together.
A/N- The end! Wow! I'm actually finished! I hope everyone enjoyed this, and Cliffhanger Girl a.k.a. me, thanks you for sticking with this to the end. Thanks to everybody for all the reviews, much love to all of you and expect to hear more from me very soon!
This fic goes out to Ron's Babe (aka CG's protégé), Tinkerbell and Viper. These three wonderful people never stop believing in me or my work. Thanks. And Kate (aka Rin Berry), an awesome friend that I met through ff.net who showed me the ropes when I was just starting out as a writer on this website.
Quotes: (I heard both of these quotes this week and it reminded me of R/H, they might not be exactly right)
"You can never be friends with someone you're in love with. Somewhere in your heart, you'll always be wanting more. (From Jack and Jill, the WB show. No, I don't love that show, I just had it on and heard that quote and thought it sounded like R/H)
"The more you suppress your feelings, the stronger they become." (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A movie that everyone NEEDS to go see.)
Star Crossed, Part Thirteen
When Ron and Hermione went to sit in the back of the classroom after they finished their scene, most of the cast applauded wildy. Jake Elliot looked disappointed, but being his amicable self, started clapping as well. Lavender and Parvati looked at each other, rolling their eyes and crossing their arms in perfect synchronization. But Ron and Hermione seemed practically oblivious to everyone around them.
"So why'd you come back?" She asked him.
"I just couldn't stand to see you playing Juliet without me being Romeo." Ron shrugged simply.
Hermione put on a fake socialite voice.
"As your dear sister said, no one can do those parts quite like we do." They both laughed, sitting down together.
Dean, Lavender, Ginny and the guy playing Mr. Capulet who Ron and Hermione had still never said two words to, were reading a scene that Romeo and Juliet were not in.
"Hey, Hermione?" Ron whispered, leaning over a bit.
"Yeah?"
"It's good to be back." He took her hand under the table, squeezing it affectionately.
Hermione felt so happy that Ron and her friends again. Or whatever they were again. She had really thought that Ron was going to leave the play for good, and now that he was back, she felt like a completely different person. There was just something about him being there, smiling congenially and holding her hand, that made her feel as if no luckier girl existed.
~*~*~*~*~
The next few weeks were so full of practice that all the cast members were getting close to burn-out. All except for Ron and Hermione. Even if they had done the scene a million times, they never seemed to tire of acting it out with each other. Practically everyone had learned their parts by now, and Jake Elliot had long gotten over the fact that he was playing Mercutio. He seemed to be really getting into the part, and amazingly didn't seem to hold much of a grudge against Ron. Hermione couldn't help thinking that no matter how boring he was, he still was an incredibly nice guy. But she could only look at him as nothing more than a casual friend, and she knew that was how it was always going to be between them. She assured Ron of this, and he seemed very pleased.
Professor McGonagall (A/N-HA! I spelled it right!) had gotten very stressed as opening night started to grow closer. She went practically hysterical every time someone messed up one of their lines. But that had started to happen less and less. So little in fact, that it actually seemed as if everyone had learned their parts. They could now do the whole play without scripts from beginning to end, with very few mistakes to speak of. Everyone had been working so hard, rehearsing on their own and between classes, and it seemed to finally be paying off. Colin Creevey's squeaky little voice did sound pretty terrible saying the beginning and ending speeches of the play, but he had learned them down to the letter. McGonagall had decided that all the practices this certain week would not be about learning lines but about painting sets and getting costume fittings. Everyone seemed pretty pleased about getting a slight break from rehearsals, even Ron and Hermione.
Ron looked down at the schedule McGonagall had made up for them.
"So, 6:00 tonight is set paintings? And no magic? What are we, Muggles?" Ron looked frustrated.
"Oh, Ron, it will be fun. I just think she figures we should do things the boring old Muggle way, you know, bond as a cast." Hermione shrugged.
"Haven't we been doing enough cast-bonding lately?" Ron sighed.
"Oh, cheer up. You don't have to come, you know. You could dump a whole bucket of paint on McGonagall and she'd still keep you in the play." Hermione laughed.
"Yeah, she did seem pretty excited when I came back, eh?" Ron grinned.
"Don't flatter yourself. I can give you a compliment, but at least PRETEND to be modest." Hermione hit him playfully on the arm as they entered the Gryffindor common room.
Harry was sitting on a couch with Guinevere, laughing about something. Hermione and Ron spotted them, walking over.
"Hey, Harry. Guinevere, right?" Hermione asked, sitting on the opposite couch, Ron joining her.
"Yeah, and you're Hermione Granger. And-Ron Weasley, right? I've heard so much about both of you from Harry." Guinevere smiled brightly at both of them.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other sideways.
"So…you and Harry have been spending a lot of time together?" Ron asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Well, yeah, Ron. We've been practicing Quidditch practically non-stop, and you two have been so busy with the play." Harry said simply.
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Guinevere." Hermione smiled politely.
"Yeah, you too. I'll see you around. Oh, and Harry-let's try and remember our Quidditch positions tomorrow." Guinevere and Harry both seemed to find this comment absolutely hilarious, and Ron and Hermione couldn't even begin to guess why that was funny.
"Right. Bye, Guinevere." Harry said, still laughing slightly.
She smiled, standing to her impressive full height, and walking off.
"So, Harry?" Ron raised an eyebrow, Hermione giggling slightly.
"No, Ron. It's not like that." Harry rolled his eyes, and it appeared he was telling the truth.
"Sure, sure." Ron laughed.
"Anyway, Harry, how has Quidditch practice been going? I feel like we've hardly seen each other the past few weeks." Hermione asked.
"Oh, it's been going fine. I've missed you guys though. I'm looking forward to opening night, but I haven't seen either of you, or Dean, Ginny…any of you, except at lunch and classes. I'm going to like when things get back to normal."
"Yeah, well you know McGonagall. She wants this absolutely perfect. But it will be nice to not have such a hectic schedule." Hermione admitted.
"You usually make your schedule hectic enough on your own." Ron grinned.
"Oh, which reminds me. I haven't had a spare moment to study for my O.W.L.'s."
"Hermione! We're barely half-way through the year!" Harry exclaimed, smiling.
"It's never too early." Hermione shrugged.
They all laughed, and talked, just the three of them, for the next hour or so. But then Ron and Hermione had to go help paint the sets. This play coming to an end would be bittersweet, Ron and Hermione thought to themselves. Sure, it had brought some incredible things with it and some feelings they hadn't even known were there. But both rather longed for how simple life was before this play. Ron and Hermione couldn't help wondering as they walked downstairs if things could ever be like it was before. Had too much changed between them to just go back to how things used to be?
~*~*~*~*~
"If I have to paint one more square inch of scenery, I think I'm leaving Hogwarts." Hermione rolled her eyes.
The rest of the cast murmured their agreement, begrudgingly finishing up the backdrops they had been working on for the past five hours. It was getting late, and everyone was getting irritable and tired.
Hermione looked over at Ron, laughing.
"Ron, I think you got more paint on yourself than the balcony." Ron had been painting the balcony white, and had proved to be very bad at this kind of work. He had no practice at painting, growing up in wizard household.
"Oh, shut up." Ron rolled his eyes, flicking his paint brush at her, splashing her with white paint.
"Hey!" Hermione, who had up to now only managed to get a few paint streaks on her robes, exclaimed.
Professor McGonagall was overseeing everything, suddenly stood up, clapping her hands together to get their attention.
"All right, everyone. Great work tonight, I'm proud of all of you for getting this finished up. I'll be adding a few finishing touches by way of magic before Thursday, when we will have our dress rehearsal. Opening night will be Friday, as all of you know. Costume fittings will take place tomorrow at 6:00. We will put any finishing touches on Wednesday night. Once again, great work everyone. You're dismissed."
Everyone expressed their relief, happily walking off. Ron and Hermione started to head off together.
"I'm exhausted." Ron voiced suddenly, running his hands through his hair and leaving a big streak of white paint.
"Me too. But costume fittings should be fun tomorrow." Hermione shrugged, yawning.
"I guess. What sort of thing is Romeo supposed to wear anyway?" Ron asked.
"Well, I went to a performance of Romeo and Juliet when I was ten, and Romeo wore…well, he wore tights." Hermione started to laugh.
"TIGHTS? What? I didn't know that!" Ron looked horrified.
"Oh, come on, Ron, it won't be that bad." Hermione said, grinning.
"I'm NOT wearing tights." Ron said desperately as they reached the portrait hole.
They entered the common room, a few of their fellow Gryffindors still up.
"All right, well, see you in the morning, Hermione." Ron called, walking off.
"Yeah, see you." Hermione called back.
"Oh, and Ron?" She suddenly turned back around.
"Yeah?" He looked back at her.
She walked over, hugging him and kissing his cheek.
"I'm really glad you're back." She smiled, and then walked off.
Ron smiled back, grinning to himself as he walked off to bed.
~*~*~*~*~
Costume fittings were the following day. McGonagall had brought in a woman named Madam Ricadia, a costume designer who used magic. She was tall and thin, and looked very fashionable herself. She wore bright purple robes with a jeweled belt around her waist and her hair done up in shimmering chopsticks. Lavender looked at her in awe, and it appeared Trelawney had been replaced as her role model.
Madam Ricadia got everyone's measurements, and told McGonagall she would have the costumes by Thursday. Ron suddenly raised his hand, his ears slightly pink.
"Yes?" She asked in her crisp, sharp voice.
"The boy's costumes don't involve tights in any way, do they?" He asked.
She smiled slightly, as Lavender started giggling so furiously Hermione thought she was going to pass out.
"No, no tights." Madam Ricadia grinned.
Ron looked so immensely relieved that even Hermione had to laugh.
"Too bad, Ron." Hermione said, smiling.
"Well, I had to know." Ron shrugged.
"All right, everyone, remember dress rehearsal is tomorrow night. Get here at 5:00 so that you can see your costumes and make sure they fit properly. This is almost it, everyone. Please review your lines tonight. You're dismissed."
Ron and Hermione left, both nervous and excited about the play. Neither talked much on the way up to the common room. They both went their separate ways when they entered.
"See you in the morning, Romeo." Hermione called over her shoulder, grinning.
Ron laughed, heading off to his room.
~*~*~*~*~
When Ron awoke the morning of dress rehearsal, he felt as though his heart was nearly beating out of his chest. Tomorrow night, they would be performing the play in front of the ENTIRE school. In front of all the students and all the teachers. In front of Harry, which would be strange. And in front of MALFOY. Ron groaned inwardly. He could already imagine the sort of things Malfoy would say about he and Hermione after the play. Rolling out his bed, he took in a deep breath. ((C'mon, now, Weasley. Be a man. At least you don't have to wear tights.))
~*~*~*~*~
Hermione woke up the morning of the dress rehearsal in an incredibly good mood. Nearly leaping out of bed, she catapulted into Lavender, who shot her a dirty look.
"Morning, Lav. It's great to see you too." Hermione grinned, and went to take a shower.
~*~*~*~*~
Guinevere and Harry sat in the common room, playing chess.
"Ha! Check! Good grief, Harry, you weren't kidding when you said you were bad at this." Guinevere smiled playfully.
"Oh, shut up." Harry rolled his eyes, laughing.
"So…excited about the play tomorrow?" Guinevere asked.
"Yeah, I guess. It'll be nice when it's over to see Ron and Hermione again." Harry shrugged.
"Yeah, it seems like play practice keeps them pretty busy." Guinevere looked like she really wanted to ask Harry something but couldn't quite say it.
"Is something bothering you?" Harry looked at her curiously.
"Well, I'm trying to be tactful here, Harry, but I think I'm just going to come out and ask you. Is there something going on between them?"
"Who? Ron and Hermione?" Harry sputtered.
"Well, yeah."
"To be honest, I have no clue," Harry started talking a little quieter, "I mean, I kind of figured they had a thing for each other in fourth year, or at least Ron liked her, but lately…I just have no clue. I wouldn't think, you know, because they fight all the time, but I guess…I don't know. Neither of them will admit that they're-you know, together, and I really have no way of finding out. And to be honest, it's kind of bothering me."
"Well, that's certainly understandable, Harry. I mean, they're your best friends. That would drive me crazy." Guinevere looked like she actually understood.
"Yeah. Oh, well. They'll tell me when they tell me, I guess. Thanks for listening." Harry grinned weakly.
"Anytime, Harry. See you at practice tonight." Guinevere smiled at him, and left.
~*~*~*~*~
Hermione and Ron headed down to dress rehearsal that night with some of their fellow Gryffindors.
"So…nervous?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, a little." Ron admitted.
"Me too."
They entered the Great Hall, and their eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.
"Whoa…" Ron muttered.
"No kidding, Keanu Reeves." Hermione replied.
"What?" Ron asked, still looking in awe at the Great Hall.
"It's a Muggle thing, forget it." Hermione stared up at the newly decorated Hall as well.
The painted white balcony was hung high above them, covered with glittering roses and vines that seemed to sparkle slightly. All the tables and chairs were set up facing the "stage." The teacher's desk had been moved and the floor had been covered with pearly white and blue marble. And various other scenery lay about, everything looking more spectacular than the next. They couldn't even begin to guess what was backstage.
"This is…amazing." Lavender said, leading the rest of the cast who was walking in.
"Good evening, everyone. Glad to see you like the "finishing touches." Is everyone ready to get started?" Professor McGonagall suddenly came out from backstage.
Things went very well from the beginning. Colin's voice still sounded very squeaky, and Ron and Hermione kept grinning at each other as he spoke.
"Nice job, Mr. Creevey. Now, everyone, costume changes. Go backstage and Madam Ricadia will assist you."
Hermione and Ginny walked towards the girl's side together. Ginny was given an exquisite royal blue dress with light blue criss-cross stitching on the upper half of the dress. Madam Ricadia hurried over to Hermione.
"Ah, yes, Hogwart's own Juliet." She smiled widely at her.
"That's me." Hermione said, grinning back.
"Come with me, my dear. You have more costume changes than anyone." Madam Ricadia led her to a backroom with four gorgeous dresses on mannequins.
"Wow…" Hermione choked out.
"Thank you, my dear. Now, for your first scene, getting ready for the party, you will wear this silk bathrobe. At the actual party and balcony, you wear this," she gestured toward a light blue beaded dress with an accompanying beaded mask, "and you're wedding dress," she pointed towards a white dress complete with a veil, "and for your death scene, my favorite dress of all." It was midnight blue silk with a scoop neck and had red beaded accents.
Hermione felt a slight girly leap of excitement at the prospect of wearing all these beautiful clothes.
"Thank you, Madam Ricadia." She said earnestly.
"It's your night, I wanted you to look perfect. And you will. Now get your bathrobe on, and get ready for the dress rehearsal." And Madam Ricadia left, smiling.
~*~*~*~*~
Ron and all the other boys in the play were looking at their costumes with relief. Ron was just a white button down shirt with a black tuxedo jacket, and black pants that were on the tighter side, but were in no way tights. He happily got dressed, feeling pretty excited.
As everyone got dressed, backstage was abuzz with noise and confusion. Girls were rushing around with their hair in curlers and very dramatic make-up on. Boys complained about their outfits and tried to make themselves look as manly as possible in the outfits they were given.
Hermione sat backstage, anxiously smoothing her mass of curls. She felt girlier than usual, all dressed up in the silk bathrobe with her hair done and her face plastered with make-up.
Professor McGonagall suddenly tapped her on the shoulder, holding what looked like a clothes-mike.
"Miss Granger, thank goodness! I was just handing these out, they're clothes-mikes and they'll make your voice able to be heard by the audience better."
"But they're electrical, wouldn't those not work on Hogwarts?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Well, technically, yes, but the Ministry's specially engineered these and…oh, it's a very complicated procedure, you probably wouldn't understand. Well, actually Miss Granger, YOU might understand, but-"
"Thanks, Professor." Hermione cut off the babbling Professor McGonagall, taking the mike and clipping it on.
She decided to go find her shoes. Turning the corner, she bumped right into Ron.
"Oh, sorry--" She stopped when she saw his tuxedo outfit.
"H-Hey, Hermione." He was obviously a little surprised by what she looked like as well.
"Curtain going up in five!" Professor McGonagall announced.
"Nice outfit." Hermione laughed.
"Shut up, I feel ridiculous enough."
"No, I'm kidding. You look fine."
"Thanks. You look-different." Ron said, his voice slightly higher.
"Different good?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, sure." Ron said awkwardly, his ears red.
"Thanks. Good luck with the play." Hermione grinned.
"Yeah, you too. We've worked hard enough on it, I'm sure it'll go fine."
"I'm sure it will."
"All right, everyone, places!" Professor McGonagall said suddenly, cutting off their little conversation.
Ron and Hermione smiled nervously at each other, both walking off to get in their respective places. Colin stepped up onto the stage, shaking with nervousness and wringing his hands.
"All right, Colin, here's your cue…" Professor McGonagall patted him on the shoulder, stepping off the stage as the red velvet curtains began to open.
The entire school watched expectantly from their seats, the whole Hall lit with candles.
Colin stepped up, anxiously putting a hand on his clothes-mike. And slowly, he began to speak.
"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene-" Suddenly, his squeaky, high voice ceased. Colin stopped talking, got a frightened look on his face, and loudly cleared his throat. When he started to speak again, it wasn't his voice at all. It was a deep, low voice that echoed through the hall. "From ancient grudge break to new mutiny-"
Ginny and Hermione watched from backstage as Colin continued to speak with his newly acquired voice. Ginny slapped her hand over her mouth.
"I don't believe it! Colin's voice changed!" Ginny giggled.
"THAT'S funny." Hermione laughed as well, shaking her head.
Colin finished to thunderous applause from the Great Hall. Smiling sheepishly and a lot more confidently than usual, he left the stage. The play began, and not a mistake was made. When they got to the balcony scene, Ron and Hermione did better than ever and didn't even look that uncomfortable kissing each other. Guinevere and Harry watched from the audience, sitting next to each other.
"Hey, Harry?" Guinevere whispered, watching Ron and Hermione on the stage.
"Yeah?" Harry replied, looking a little shocked as he watched the stage as well.
"You know how you were talking about how you're not sure how Ron and Hermione feel about each other?" She asked, smiling slightly.
"Yeah?"
"I think it's pretty obvious." She grinned sympathetically at him, and went back to watching the play.
Harry sighed slightly. The rest of this year was definitely going to be strange.
~*~
The play was nearly at an end. Hermione and Ron were acting the famous death scene.
"Thus…with a kiss…I die." Ron kissed her, and fell dramatically back on the stone table.
Some girls in the audience were crying, and everyone was watching, speechless. Except for Malfoy, who was laughing so hard he was nearly in tears himself. Crabbe looked disdainfully at him, and shoved him hard. Malfoy shut up.
"O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die!" Hermione shouted, taking the glittering dagger, and shoving it roughly under her arm.
She collapsed on top of Ron's figure, and the room fell silent.
Colin stepped into a spotlight that was slightly off center stage.
"A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some shall be pardoned, and some punished; for never was a story of more woe…than this of Juliet and her Romeo." He finished, his new deep voice sounding somber and making a perfect ending to the wonderfully performed play.
Everyone sat silent for a moment, and suddenly Dumbledore leapt to his feet, clapping wildly. Everyone else followed suit shortly, even a reluctant Malfoy clapped. Harry stood up as well, feeling very proud of his friends.
Ron and Hermione got up from their positions on the stone table, grinning widely at each other. Taking each other's hands, they went to center stage and bowed, to even more applause.
"You were terrific, Hermione." Ron smiled, squeezing her hand.
"Thanks, Ron. So were you." Hermione smiled back.
As they bowed again with the rest of the cast, both of them remembered everything that had happened in the production of the play. Ron looked at Hermione as they walked off stage, and wondered if tomorrow, they would pretend like nothing had ever happened. What else could they do?
Hermione didn't let go of Ron's hand as they made their way off stage. She too wondered how things would be between them now. Would they just go back to just being friends and constantly fighting with each other? Would they start dating or something? What would everyone think about them now that this play was over?
They both stopped when they reached backstage, and Hermione, on a sudden impulse, hugged Ron tightly.
"I had a great time doing this play with you, Ron." She said, smiling.
"Me too, Hermione." They grinned widely at each other, and went to change back into their robes.
Neither knew what their "relationship" would become after this play. But tomorrow would hold the answers. And they would find out together.
A/N- The end! Wow! I'm actually finished! I hope everyone enjoyed this, and Cliffhanger Girl a.k.a. me, thanks you for sticking with this to the end. Thanks to everybody for all the reviews, much love to all of you and expect to hear more from me very soon!