Oy, this here has been edited!! YAY!! Well, I don't own Harry Potter, and this story takes place year 6. Anything dealing with Voldemort and such is explained in the next chapter. Ron/Hermione and Harry/Luna.

Tryst, Part 1

Curled on a pillow in the Room of Requirement, Ron watched his friends jump about the room, some half lost to the temptations of Firewhisky. "Amateurs," he muttered to Hermione, who nodded her not-so-bushy head. She had deemed this impromptu Christmas party worthy of her straightened hair, and Ron kept sending small glances at it when the colored lights hit her. Not that she minded, of course.

Following his statement, he took a brave swig of his own drink, then immediately lapsed into a coughing fit. Hermione, who had opted for the more tame and safe drink known as eggnog, patted Ron on the back with a vaguely concerned expression on her face. "Went down the wrong hole," He explained, still choked up.

Sitting back on his cushion and sending the occasional glance at Hermione, he continued to observe the crowd that he had deemed amateurs. For a party that had been literally planned at the last minute, there was quite the turnout. Neville and Seamus sat near the "band", the former with the safe eggnog and the latter daring the whisky.

The "band" was a few enchanted instruments and lent to the merry atmosphere in the Room, never tiring, so there was a continuous tune being played. They even took requests. On the floor were Ginny and Harry, dancing an exaggerated waltz. Luna swayed on the spot by herself, avoiding stepping under the mistletoes. Lavender Brown attempted a dance with Dean Thomas, but neither of them were sober enough to do it correctly. That still didn't keep them from mashing each other's feet as they stumbled around.

Somehow avoiding being trampled on was Parvati, who cheered on her sister as she danced with poor, petrified Colin Creevey. The instruments finished their song with a flourish, and the current dancing couples broke up save Lavender and Dean, who didn't notice the song's end.

Harry collapsed onto a cushion next to Ron, laughing. Ron smiled as he handed Harry a glass full of the drink he now despised. The beautifully crafted and probably ancient mask that Dumbledore had given Harry now sat precariously on top of his head, pushed up for his dance with Ginny. The mask was made to look like the face of a black owl, and Ron figured Harry would probably want to wear it for their graduating ball. He wasn't so fond of the idea of sweating under a mask all night, but as long as everyone else had to suffer with him he could deal.

"Harry," Hermione started, laughing with him. "Take Ron up to dance with you next time, he's sulking." She ended this by poking him in the side, causing him to flinch and slosh his drink onto his hands. "You are a cruel woman," he muttered under his breath.

Harry watched their exchange with a fond expression on his face. He raised his glass to Ron. "Cheers, Ron. To the best holiday yet!" Ron was about to tell him he was probably jinxing their so-far-so-good holiday, but after one look at his best-friends slightly flushed face and his eyes bright with mirth and he clinked his glass against Harry's.

Harry grinned approvingly and drank, tossing back the evil liquid with far less trouble than Ron who took a cautious sip. Not too bad, he reasoned, when you take it slow. At that moment, Lavender and Dean collapsed in a giggling heap, not bothering to disentangle themselves.

The trio instantly broke into laughter, the kind when you're so giddy it's hard to stop. "Oh…shoot" Harry said intelligently, and instantly resumed laughing, tears threatening to spill. The instruments struck up the chords to a new song, and Harry grabbed his friends by their hands, stumbling slightly as he dragged them onto the floor. "You two shall dance!" He declared, his words only slightly slurred. "Under a mistletoe!" He pushed them together and strode off to Luna, the only one not passed out and willing to dance (Ginny had claimed a pile of cushions as her resting place).

"Uhhh...so…uh, yeah," Ron confided to his dance partner, who gave him a small smile. Ron noticed her face was red, but just placed it on her drinking. The song was something a little too fast for their level of skill, but he managed not to murder Hermione's feet, and started to gain confidence. He stole a glace at Luna and Harry, who were pulling off a nearly perfect tango, only hindered by the fact that stepping under mistletoes is forbidden. He was touched by that for some reason, and felt his throat grow tight. Oh, stop being so bloody soft, he told himself. I'm just glad that he's finally having fun.

He returned his attention to Hermione, her face softened by some unknown emotion. He gave her a smile and she returned it, brighter than he expected. The song ended sooner than he thought it would, and they were joined by Harry and Luna whose faces were pink from laughing. Ron looked around the room and noticed everyone look ready for bed. "Think we should be heading out," He said regretfully. "Party isn't that lively anymore."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, or I'm gonna get coal in my sock." He muttered. Ron looked blankly at him; wondering just how much alcohol had gone to his brain when Luna suddenly pointed above their heads. "What?" he asked warily. "Mistletoe," she said. Ron looked up and sure enough, a green sprig with white berries hung innocently above them. I swear, he thought, that stuff always shows up at the wrong moments on purpose. Ron immediately felt his face grow hot and tried to ignore Harry's weirdly satisfied expression. "Its bad luck to not kiss under mistletoe," he warned. Ron scoffed at him. "What's gonna happen? I'll insult the nutter House-Elf that hangs them up?"

Harry nodded solemnly and Ron snarled. Ginny abandoned her cushions and strode over to them. "Oh, just kiss her, Ron, so we can all go to bed. You know you want to." Ron felt panicked, and looked at Hermione for guidance. She rolled her eyes. "For Merlin's sake," she snapped, and stood up on her toes to kiss Ron on his cheek. "Whoa!" Harry shouted. "What was that, Hermione? I get kissed like that by Ron's mum!"

"So?!" she cried. "It was still a kiss!" Ginny and now nearly the rest of the room (Lavender and Dean still weren't inclined to move from the floor) were watching with great amusement. Harry snorted. "That was not a kiss." He turned to Luna. "Was it?" She shook her head. "What's the big deal anyway?" Ginny asked Hermione. "Its just Ron." Hermione flushed and tried to stutter out a reply.

Harry folded his arms. "Well, we're not leaving until its done." He said sternly. Ron let an exasperated growl and took Hermione by the shoulders. He smashed his lips on hers; trying not to think about what he was doing. After counting to five in his head, he tore from her and turned to Harry.

"HA!" and with that; Ron stalked from the Room of Requirement with a blush as bright as his hair.

Well, that's much better! I thought the ending might have been a bit rushed. Now head on over to chapter 2 and read that one too

Was Harry a bit evil in this chapter? Yes, I suppose he was. But the Ron/Hermione thing has been going on for ages at this point. They need a push! That and he was a bit drunk. So, read on children, read on!