One minute left till the New Year. She prepares herself for what she is about to do. Hermione takes a deep breath and grabs Ron's hand. He gives her a weird look for a second but continues on with the countdown. Harry and Ginny sitting by the fire are screaming it loud and clear along with everyone else in the room; Everyone but Hermione. As the ten second mark reaches she brushes her hair out of her face and at five seconds she turns to face Ron. At one she whispered "I have always loved you" and kissed Ron. "Whaaa?" Ron mumbled in the middle of cheers. But before she could hear it, Hermione had fled to the girl's dormitory.
She excitedly jumped into bed and just laid there in awe. She actually did it. "Maybe this year won't be so bad" she said aloud and closed her eyes and drifted off. Three hours later Ginny came hopping up stairs and she burst into the room. "Hermione!" "Wake up!" "Will you quit your bickering? I'm awake!" Hermione spat. "What in the bloody hell is your problem? It's three in the morning." "I know. I wanted to ask you why you left right after the ball had dropped." Ginny said with an upset and insulted look. "I did something stupid that's why. I kissed Ron. He is going to hate me now." "I am sure he will be fine, knowing Ron." Ginny said yawning. "He might but who's to say he won't be?" "Go back to bed and you will see in the morning" said Ginny as she yawned and made her way to bed.
Hermione woke at dawn to see everyone sound asleep in their beds. She walked to the end of her bed and grabbed clothes out of her trunk. A shower after last night and a rough early morning wake up seemed like the best idea at the time. After getting out of the shower, she slowly and quietly made her way down the stairs to the common room with a book and a blanket under each arm. For an hour or two she planned on catching up on her reading and then heading off to the Great Hall.
The common room was littered with garbage. The couches and chairs were covered in confetti and the fire was nearly dead. After brushing off the nearest couch, Hermione slipped into a corner and snuggled into her book and started to read. The morning noises and all the snoring coming from the dormitories kept her company and were nearly hypnotic. Within ten minutes she was sound asleep where she sat.
Nearly an hour later she stirred from a noise coming from the stairs. She turned to see who or what it was. Even though the room was brightly lit from the rising sun, she couldn't see who it was. "Who's there?" She gasped in between yawns. No one answered. She didn't care. She just stretched out and closed her eyes again. Who ever it was tried to be really quiet, but over all made more noise in the attempt.
Deep breathing could be heard over the loud noises being made under their shoes. Hermione couldn't pinpoint who it was. Slowly, Harry made himself present before the fire. Harry was tending the fire and wasn't aware that anyone was down in the common room as early as he was. "You're up early." Hermione mumbled. "Whoa! I didn't realize anyone else was either." Harry said in a startled tone. Hermione quietly chuckled under her breath.
For sometime Harry fiddled with the fire and stared blankly at Hermione. Being Ron's best friend and seeing him just stare worried her greatly. She coughed lightly and brought Harry out of his trance. He poked at the fire one last time and shuffled over to the chair opposite of Hermione not saying a word or sound. He seemed depressed for reasons unknown to her. For a while all Harry did was sit and twirl his thumbs. Harry finally broke the silence.
"So, you kissed Ron last night?" Hermione couldn't find the words to say. She really liked Harry too. Ginny liked him so she decided to stay away. She was afraid to say anything in fear of screwing up her chances if all else failed with Ron. "I did. I really don't even know what to think of it right now. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing." Harry just sat staring at his shoes. "He went looking for you and couldn't find you. I asked Ginny to go look but she wouldn't get off me."
Hermione felt extremely guilty. But happy that she went to sleep so she could have this time with Harry. "Oh. I wasn't aware. I thought he'd hate me after that so I ran." Hermione was tongue tied and didn't know what else to say