**AN: Ron is a Slytherin and Hermione is a Gryffindor. Takes place in their 6th year at Hogwarts. One-Shot! **

Rating: K

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Hermione is stuck on prefect duty with the most annoying git ever. Ronald Weasley. Can she learn to cope with him? Or will he surprise her with one simple gesture, claiming her heart?

Light streamed in through the windows of a sixth year girls' Gryffindor dorm she shared between Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. The light shined on her pale skin as her big brown eyes fluttered open. If you looked around the room you would see two beautiful dresses. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had announced the approach of a Christmas ball for the fourth years and up. but there were three girls in the room. The girl with bushy brown hair slowly sat up in bed and stretched her arms and legs as she climbed out of bed. Hermione yawned and padded to the bathroom to freshen up for the last school day of the week. Which meant she had prefect duty tonight with Ron Weasley, of the Slytherin house. She had just started this term and barely spent five minutes with him and she already couldn't stand him! He was impossible. Not only that, but he also bullied her along with Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle. But he didn't bother her as much as he did Harry and Neville. Now that she thought more of it, when Draco would make fun of her, or call her a mudblood, he would cast her a sad, kind of sympathetic look. She felt her cheeks burn a little from just thinking about it. But she couldn't like Ron Weasley. She just couldn't. She barely knows him for Merlin's sake! It's a impossible thought itself!

Sighing, Hermione exited the bathroom she shared with Lavender and Parvati. After grabbing her bags and books, she opened the large wooden door that sealed off their door from the hall way leading to the sixth year girl's rooms. Seeing as no one was in the Common Room yet, Hermione decided to make her way down to the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table and took a seat. She set books upon the tables and opened a few, beginning to study. She glanced around her and saw there were only six other people present in the Great Hall. Three at the HufflePuff table, two at the RavenClaw table, and one at the Slytherin table. At the HufflePuff table, sat Susan Bones, Zacharias Smith, and Hannah Abott. Sitting quietly reading at the RavenClaw was Luna Lovegood at one end of the table and Cho Chang at the other, as far away from Luna as she could get apparently; however, it didn't bother Luna the slightest bit. But at the Slytherin table, Ronald Billius Weasley sat alone with a few books just she did. She blushed for the second time that morning as she saw him look up at her and caught her starring. Clearing her throat to herself for no apparent reason. She looked quickly back down at her books, but starred blankly at the pages, instead concentrating on the fine print, she began to recall the image of Ron. His hair was long on his neck, and his bangs fell in his face. She saw piercing blue eyes for a split second and freckles on his face. A small smile crept onto the lips as she glanced up to see Ron run a hand through his ginger hair, then looked back down at her Transfiguration book.

"Hermione?" A deep voice asked from across the table. She jerked her head up and starred at the person who had addressed her. It was none other than the thing that had invaded her mind not but a few seconds before. Ron Weasley stood across the table from her, his few books in hand.

Surprised he had used her first name rather than her last shocked her all together. "Er, yes, Ronald?" She inquired him from across the large wooden table.

From the other side of the table, Ron scowled a bit. "I told you not to call me 'Ronald'." Ron snapped at her slightly. Taken back, Hermione mumbled her apologies and pursed her lips together as he continued. "It's just 'Ron'. Alright? Just 'Ron'."

Hermione nodded and asked the boy who stood before her. "Wha do you need, Ron? Is something wrong?" Hermione inquired him.

Ron began rubbing his neck at the question. He was nervous about something. "Well... I-I was just won-wondering if you'd be okay with it if-if I sat with you f-for a little..." Ron stuttered.

Screaming in her head, but remaining calm on the outside, Hermione replied to the youngest Weasley boy. "Y-Yes. Of course." She may have said that a little too quickly.

Smiling sheepishly, Ron sat down across from her at the Gryffindor Table without making eye contact with her. He had his Transfiguration book with him as well. Seeing this, Hermione gathered enough Gryffindor courage to ask one question to him.

"Ron," She addressed. His head jerked up at the sound of his name. "Would you like to study Transfiguration together?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Ron said as he pulled his own Transfiguration book from his stack of books he had brought along with him and opened to the page Hermione was turned to.

The two studied together for a few minutes. On the rare occasion Hermione didn't know the answer to a problem, Ron would come up with an amusing way to correct her and every once in a while he would make a joke she would giggle at. And Hermione Jean Granger did not giggle.

The end of their little study session finally came and when Ron made a move to stand up, she quickly asked him suddenly, "So see you on patrols tonight then?"

Ron gave her one of his famous lopsided grins and replied to her. "Yeah. See you then." He promised her.

When he left, she picked up her Transfiguration book to place it in her bag, when something fell out of the cover of the book. It was a slip of parchment. She slowly unfolded it slowly, curiosity plaguing her. When she had unfolded the slip of parchment and read the two words scrawled out on it in familiar messy handwriting, a bright grin spread across her face as students from all houses piling into the Great Hall. On the parchment she starred at the two words that read:

'Christmas ball?'

in Ron's messy penmanship.

She looked across the Great Hall and immediately made eye contact with Ron. A smirk was displayed across his face. And she barely nodded her head at him. But he knew her reply.

"Harry, Neville, I'm heading out for prefect duties." Hermione informed the two boys sitting in front of the crackling fireplace, playing a game of Wizard's Chess.

Hermione headed out the portrait hole and practically skipped down the corridors to where she was to meet Ron. Hermione also was not one to skip. She found Ron sitting on the window base, waiting for her.

He looked up and walked in three long strides and met her, taking her hands carefully in his own. "So is that a yes?" He asked her.

With a smile plastered on her face, she nodded and said. "Yes."