Hi there! New fanfic! These are ten things you didn't know about Hermione Granger, one per chapter. This one is set in GOF, after the Yule Ball. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I've asked Santa, over and over, but I still don't own Harry Potter.

TEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HERMIONE GRANGER

1. She used to hate her hair. Not anymore, though.

Ron walked downstairs quietly. He needed some time to think, and Neville's snores weren't really helping him concentrate. He wished he could've asked Harry for help, but he and his mate had never really talked about that sort of thing; it would be utterly and unnecessarily embarrassing. He wanted to apologize to Hermione, and knowing her as well as he did, Ron knew she wasn't about to give in that easily. Which is why he'd come down to the Common Room, to try and think of a proper way to say he was sorry, alone and without anyone to hear his attempts. However, his purpose was frustrated when he discovered someone sitting in his favorite chair in front of the fire. Someone with lots of brown, unusually straight hair…

"Hermione?" Ron asked timidly as he approached her seat in the common room. She didn't even bother to turn; she just kept staring at the fire.

"Ronald, I do not feel like talking to you right now," was her cold response.

"I know—I just—well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, you should be," she said, and this time she did turn around to glare at him. He noticed her eyes were blood-shot, as though she had been crying. Ron didn't know what to say next, Merlin knew he was never good at comforting people, and he'd never even got to practice his apology.

"W-what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just—I mean, this night was supposed to be special, and well—it wasn't," she whipped her tears with her sleeve. She was no longer wearing her dress robes, nor had she any make-up on, and her hair wasn't tied into a knot, but hanging loosely, reaching below her shoulder blades, still sleek and shiny. Merlin, she looks beautiful.

"I'm so, so sorry Hermione. I screwed up, it was all my fault," Hermione did not answer, so he continued, "I had spotted you were a girl." He murmured, "I just thought you'd say no," he finished, and to his surprise, he realized it was true. Hadn't the idea been in his mind, too timid to be thought shamelessly?

"I would have said yes," she retorted in a barely audible voice. She didn't even want to admit it to herself, much less to Ron, but she had been secretly hoping he would be the one to ask her. There was and awkward silence, in which they both realized how silly they had been. Being afraid of rejection, they missed their chance to finally be together.

"So—what did you do to your hair?" asked Ron, trying to change the subject. He felt his ears going red.

"I—I used some potion," she answered, turning faintly pink. She had put so much effort into looking good not only because it was her first official date, but because she wanted Ron to see her and make him regret he didn't notice her before.

"You look pretty," Ron blurted out. He didn't know he was going to say that, it sort of came out of its own. His ears went red.

"I—thanks," Hermione turned red. Oh my, will I have to use this thing on my hair every day just to get him to like me?

"But…" he started, avoiding eye contact with her.

"But what?"

"Well—don't get me wrong, you looked great tonight—but I kinda liked your hair better the way it was."

"Ha-ha, don't make me laugh. Are you saying you like my ridiculously bushy hair?"

"Well, I—yeah, I do. Actually, your hair is my favorite thing about you," Ron's voice lowered, as he saw Hermione looking at him with surprise, but he continued, "Without it you wouldn't be Hermione. Don't you see it? Your hair is what makes you different from every other girl that I know and I—I like that," he opened his mouth as he was going to say something else, but then he closed it and looked at Hermione insistently.

"I didn't know that, Ron. Thank you." Hermione's lips curved up ever so slightly.

"Sure. Er…I should g-go to b-bed now." Ron stammered. He still couldn't believe what he had just said.

"Yeah, me too." Hermione started to walk towards her dormitory.

"Hermione!" called Ron across the room.

"Yes?"

"Are we okay?" Ron was nervous; he knew he had really screwed up, and he wasn't quite sure she'd forgive him. Hermione looked at him for a while, like she was evaluating him, and then said, "Yes, Ron, I suppose we are." She turned away slowly and so did Ron. That night, Hermione decided she simply loved her hair.

What did you think? Please review and let me know! Thanks for reading!