The door to the girls' dormitories opened and closed. Who ever had
entered the girls' dormitories was obviously hidden beneath an Invisibility
Cloak. Footsteps echoed off the stone walls as the hidden figure tramped
up the stairs toward the sixth year girls' dormitory. The Gryffindor sixth
year girls' sleep would be interrupted by a cloaked figure, but who was
hiding from the girls, only God knew. Just as a hand reached out to grasp
the doorknob, the door opened and someone walked out.
Hermione Granger closed the door behind her, locking Crookshanks in the dormitory where he could not get into mischief. She suddenly got a strange feeling as if she was being watched by unseen eyes. "Hermione,"whispered a strangely familiar voice. Hermione looked around. "H-hello? I-is anybody there?"she called down the the stairs. Some unseen person cleared their throat dramatically. "Hermione,"the voice croaked. Then the person pulled off their Invisibility Cloak and tossed it on the ground. "Hermione, hold on to something. The last time I tried this, the stairs turned into a slide, remember?"
The person turned out to be Ronald Weasley. Having borrowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak while the other boy slept, Ron had decided to sneak into the girls' dormitory to talk to Hermione. His plan had quite obviously backfired.
What Ron didn't know was that Hermione had left the dormitory with the intent of sneaking up to visit Ron. Her plan had also, quite obviously, been thwarted by just the person she'd been intending to see.
"Oh, Ron! You gave me quite a fright! Of course, I was just about to...er...come see you so..." Hermione stuttered. She was slowly backing into the door to the dormitory. "Besides, they took that slide/stair charm off ages ago. Ron, come here, I want you to see something." Hermione turned and walked a few steps up the staircase before turning and beckoning to Ron. Ron followed quite willingly. Hermione led him up to the top of the girls' tower and through a door at the very top of the stairs.
The room they entered was decorated in all maroon (as the room at the top of the boys' stairs was all in gold), and, surprisingly, filled with people. Hermione looked back at Ron, and, upon seeing his confused look, said,"This is the Gnome Rally Room. No, gnomes don't have rallies up here. There's one in the boys' dormitory, too. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History, so don't even start. Usually, the only people who know about it are the people who read history books about the school, the people who listen to Professor Binns, and the seventh years. I accidently walked in here looking for the lavitory one night. You can tell what it is used for just by looking around. Go on, look around, they won't kill you for being curious." Ron did as he was bid. He saw snogging in some places, intimate conversations in others. "Wow, I never thought places like these existed. Why'd you bring me up here though?" He asked Hermione, thoroughly puzzled. Hermione took a step toward him, almost knocking him backward, as he'd been standing in front of a foot-high stack of cushions and he had tried to step back. "Guess," she told him softly.
Ron finally hit the floor as he took another step backward, tripped over the stack of cushions, and flying backward over them. Hermione sank to her knees in front of the cushions and sat back in a tailor's seat. Ron managed to get his elbows up under himself and scooted backwards as far as he dared. He grabbed a fixture on a satin-covered wall and pulled himself into a sitting position. The fixture shifted downward and Hermione and himself were showered in maroon glitter and confetti. "Bloody hell, Hermione! I just about killed myself!"Ron exclaimed, shaking the glitter and confetti out of his bright red hair. "Hermione, have you gone mental? Do you really want 'responsible for suicide' on your job resume? I suppose you also haven't properly noticed the niffler behind you, Hermione?" Ron pulled himself up while Hermione was looking around behind her for the niffler. She caught sight of the wicked creature and used a Vanishing Spell on it. "Tricky little blighters! And wicked fast to boot! I'll be willing to bet that somebody close to your brothers set the bloody critter loose in here to begin with! It's probably been floating around here for ages! I'll even bet Fred or George did it before they left! What do you think, Ron? Ron? Ron? RON! Don't make me-RONALD WEASLEY!!! IF I'VE WARNED YOU ONCE, I'VE WARNED YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE MATTER AT HAND, AND NOT WHAT YOU'RE HAVING FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW!!! I brought you up here because I like you, Ron Weasley. Yes, I like you. The cat's out of the bag. I didn't bring you up here to discuss Quidditch, our families, new broomstick grooming techniques, Howlers, the latest news, or any of that bloody gossip rubbish! I just wanted to tell you how I felt. If you don't feel the same, please leave now and spare me the humiliation. Go on, get out! We're finished here! Shoo!" Hermione exclaimed, her head slowly falling into her hands. But Ron didn't get up and leave (though Hermione obviously thought he had because she began crying at full volume), instead, he pulling the crying Hermione into his arms and rocked her back and forth until she calmed down. "Shh...It's all right, it's all right." Ron muttered in Hermione's ear. "Calm down, calm down, everything's gonna be okay."
Hermione lifted her head to see who it was holding her, rocking her, and consoling her. When she saw Ron, she relaxed and fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~* *~**~
Hermione woke up in her own bed the next morning, not entirely sure how she had gotten back there the night before. Last she rememered was crying in Ron's arms up in the Gnome Rally Room. Hermione rolled over onto a sleeping figure.
Ron lay on top of Hermione's covers, fully clothed and obviously asleep. Hermione sat up and stared out one of the windows. Ron was enough of a gentleman to leave Hermione in her clothes rather than undressing her for bed. Hermione smiled faintly and climbed out of her bed, changing quickly into fresh school clothing.
Hermione went into the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the enchanted mirror. "It's not going to get any better just standing there and pretending you don't see how much he likes you. Why else would he bring you back to your own bed and stay to make sure you were okay? By the way, you may want to do something about the puffiness and bags under your eyes before he sees. Imagine how humiliating it would be if you were to walk out there looking like somebody ran you through the ringer a few times. I would suggest a strong Nettle Concoctive Cream. It's good for such things, you know. Oh, oh, oh, oh dearie meeeeeeeeee!!!" the enchanted reflection jabbered, swirling like it was going down the toilet. Hermione had finally had her fill of her enchanted mirror and yelled,"Finite Incantatum!" in her reflection's face, her wand held high.
Hermione walked back out of the bathroom to find Ron awake and jabbing sleepily at some threads of the bed covering that had wrapped themselves around his leg with his wand, yelling,"Con Mortis Blanket!" over and over. Hermione ran into striking distance and yelled,"Finite Incantatum!" only to yell,"Pro Mortis Blanket!" once it had released Ron's leg.
"What the bloody hell has gotten into your bedclothes?"Ron aked Hermione, yawning hugely and stretching past the confines of his almost-too- small clothes.
"They're East Persian Enchanted Blankets. Mum bought them for me when she learned I was to go to basically a Wizards' boarding school. Don't worry about it, I'll explain about a boarding school later. About last night-"Hermione said, looking faintly amused.
"Look, it's okay about last night, I understand how it must feel to be embarassed by a clutz like me. I'm only related to a pair of twin clutzes that embarass me constantly. Plus, I have a little sister and three other older brothers to boot. I get embarassed almost on a daily basis."Ron interjected, cutting Hermione off rather rudely.
"As I was saying. About last night. I understand if you don't feel the same as I do, but you could at least tell me how you feel so I don't make such a fool of myself again." Hermione finished, looking rather flustered.
Ron looked up at her, surprised in spite of himself. Then he said,"Why do you think I knicked Harry's Invisibility Cloak last night? Do you think it was just for bloody fun? No, it was because I wanted to see you. I've had a huge crush on you since second year. I'm surprised you didn't see that with all your common sense and brains."
Hermione Granger closed the door behind her, locking Crookshanks in the dormitory where he could not get into mischief. She suddenly got a strange feeling as if she was being watched by unseen eyes. "Hermione,"whispered a strangely familiar voice. Hermione looked around. "H-hello? I-is anybody there?"she called down the the stairs. Some unseen person cleared their throat dramatically. "Hermione,"the voice croaked. Then the person pulled off their Invisibility Cloak and tossed it on the ground. "Hermione, hold on to something. The last time I tried this, the stairs turned into a slide, remember?"
The person turned out to be Ronald Weasley. Having borrowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak while the other boy slept, Ron had decided to sneak into the girls' dormitory to talk to Hermione. His plan had quite obviously backfired.
What Ron didn't know was that Hermione had left the dormitory with the intent of sneaking up to visit Ron. Her plan had also, quite obviously, been thwarted by just the person she'd been intending to see.
"Oh, Ron! You gave me quite a fright! Of course, I was just about to...er...come see you so..." Hermione stuttered. She was slowly backing into the door to the dormitory. "Besides, they took that slide/stair charm off ages ago. Ron, come here, I want you to see something." Hermione turned and walked a few steps up the staircase before turning and beckoning to Ron. Ron followed quite willingly. Hermione led him up to the top of the girls' tower and through a door at the very top of the stairs.
The room they entered was decorated in all maroon (as the room at the top of the boys' stairs was all in gold), and, surprisingly, filled with people. Hermione looked back at Ron, and, upon seeing his confused look, said,"This is the Gnome Rally Room. No, gnomes don't have rallies up here. There's one in the boys' dormitory, too. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History, so don't even start. Usually, the only people who know about it are the people who read history books about the school, the people who listen to Professor Binns, and the seventh years. I accidently walked in here looking for the lavitory one night. You can tell what it is used for just by looking around. Go on, look around, they won't kill you for being curious." Ron did as he was bid. He saw snogging in some places, intimate conversations in others. "Wow, I never thought places like these existed. Why'd you bring me up here though?" He asked Hermione, thoroughly puzzled. Hermione took a step toward him, almost knocking him backward, as he'd been standing in front of a foot-high stack of cushions and he had tried to step back. "Guess," she told him softly.
Ron finally hit the floor as he took another step backward, tripped over the stack of cushions, and flying backward over them. Hermione sank to her knees in front of the cushions and sat back in a tailor's seat. Ron managed to get his elbows up under himself and scooted backwards as far as he dared. He grabbed a fixture on a satin-covered wall and pulled himself into a sitting position. The fixture shifted downward and Hermione and himself were showered in maroon glitter and confetti. "Bloody hell, Hermione! I just about killed myself!"Ron exclaimed, shaking the glitter and confetti out of his bright red hair. "Hermione, have you gone mental? Do you really want 'responsible for suicide' on your job resume? I suppose you also haven't properly noticed the niffler behind you, Hermione?" Ron pulled himself up while Hermione was looking around behind her for the niffler. She caught sight of the wicked creature and used a Vanishing Spell on it. "Tricky little blighters! And wicked fast to boot! I'll be willing to bet that somebody close to your brothers set the bloody critter loose in here to begin with! It's probably been floating around here for ages! I'll even bet Fred or George did it before they left! What do you think, Ron? Ron? Ron? RON! Don't make me-RONALD WEASLEY!!! IF I'VE WARNED YOU ONCE, I'VE WARNED YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE MATTER AT HAND, AND NOT WHAT YOU'RE HAVING FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW!!! I brought you up here because I like you, Ron Weasley. Yes, I like you. The cat's out of the bag. I didn't bring you up here to discuss Quidditch, our families, new broomstick grooming techniques, Howlers, the latest news, or any of that bloody gossip rubbish! I just wanted to tell you how I felt. If you don't feel the same, please leave now and spare me the humiliation. Go on, get out! We're finished here! Shoo!" Hermione exclaimed, her head slowly falling into her hands. But Ron didn't get up and leave (though Hermione obviously thought he had because she began crying at full volume), instead, he pulling the crying Hermione into his arms and rocked her back and forth until she calmed down. "Shh...It's all right, it's all right." Ron muttered in Hermione's ear. "Calm down, calm down, everything's gonna be okay."
Hermione lifted her head to see who it was holding her, rocking her, and consoling her. When she saw Ron, she relaxed and fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~* *~**~
Hermione woke up in her own bed the next morning, not entirely sure how she had gotten back there the night before. Last she rememered was crying in Ron's arms up in the Gnome Rally Room. Hermione rolled over onto a sleeping figure.
Ron lay on top of Hermione's covers, fully clothed and obviously asleep. Hermione sat up and stared out one of the windows. Ron was enough of a gentleman to leave Hermione in her clothes rather than undressing her for bed. Hermione smiled faintly and climbed out of her bed, changing quickly into fresh school clothing.
Hermione went into the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the enchanted mirror. "It's not going to get any better just standing there and pretending you don't see how much he likes you. Why else would he bring you back to your own bed and stay to make sure you were okay? By the way, you may want to do something about the puffiness and bags under your eyes before he sees. Imagine how humiliating it would be if you were to walk out there looking like somebody ran you through the ringer a few times. I would suggest a strong Nettle Concoctive Cream. It's good for such things, you know. Oh, oh, oh, oh dearie meeeeeeeeee!!!" the enchanted reflection jabbered, swirling like it was going down the toilet. Hermione had finally had her fill of her enchanted mirror and yelled,"Finite Incantatum!" in her reflection's face, her wand held high.
Hermione walked back out of the bathroom to find Ron awake and jabbing sleepily at some threads of the bed covering that had wrapped themselves around his leg with his wand, yelling,"Con Mortis Blanket!" over and over. Hermione ran into striking distance and yelled,"Finite Incantatum!" only to yell,"Pro Mortis Blanket!" once it had released Ron's leg.
"What the bloody hell has gotten into your bedclothes?"Ron aked Hermione, yawning hugely and stretching past the confines of his almost-too- small clothes.
"They're East Persian Enchanted Blankets. Mum bought them for me when she learned I was to go to basically a Wizards' boarding school. Don't worry about it, I'll explain about a boarding school later. About last night-"Hermione said, looking faintly amused.
"Look, it's okay about last night, I understand how it must feel to be embarassed by a clutz like me. I'm only related to a pair of twin clutzes that embarass me constantly. Plus, I have a little sister and three other older brothers to boot. I get embarassed almost on a daily basis."Ron interjected, cutting Hermione off rather rudely.
"As I was saying. About last night. I understand if you don't feel the same as I do, but you could at least tell me how you feel so I don't make such a fool of myself again." Hermione finished, looking rather flustered.
Ron looked up at her, surprised in spite of himself. Then he said,"Why do you think I knicked Harry's Invisibility Cloak last night? Do you think it was just for bloody fun? No, it was because I wanted to see you. I've had a huge crush on you since second year. I'm surprised you didn't see that with all your common sense and brains."